UNIST Researchers Turn Carbon Dioxide Gas into Diesel Fuel

The team of Professor Jae Sung Lee of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST discovers a new way to produce biofuel from carbon dioxide. In their study, the team presented the direct conversion of carbon dioxide to liquid fuels by reacting with hydrogen, generated by solar water splitting.

The new delafossite-based catalyst is capable of producing liquid fuels in just a single step, which can then be used by existing diesel vehicles. This new catalyst, composed of inexpensive, earth-abundant copper and steel, will be used to initiate a reaction between carbon dioxide emissions of industrial plants and hydrogen generated from solar hydrogen plant to produce diesel.

The new procedure can help remove harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as create diesel that can be used as an alternative fuel to gasoline. The researchers expect that this breakthrough can expedite elimination of greenhouse gases.