In their latest paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S. researchers describe a new catalyst they have invented to convert CO2 into other useful chemicals by increasing the production of long-chain hydrocarbons in chemical reactions fuels such as propane, butane or other hydrocarbon fuels composed of long chains of carbon and hydrogen.
The new catalyst consists of elemental ruthenium, a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group, coated with a thin layer of plastic. Like any catalyst, this invention speeds up chemical reactions without being depleted in the process. Ruthenium also has the advantage of being less expensive than other high-quality catalysts such as palladium and platinum. Under the same conditions, the new catalyst produced 1,000 times more butane than the longest hydrocarbon produced by the standard catalyst at maximum pressure.
