UD Scientists Receive Award to Pursue Research on Conversion of CO₂ to Fuels and Chemicals

Joel Rosenthal, a chemist at the University of Delaware (United States), was awarded the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award to pursue the novel research on the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into biofuel precursors and useful chemicals. The award was given by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), a consortium of 98 Ph.D.-granting universities.

According to the University of Delaware news release, "Rosenthal and his team are designing electrocatalysts from metals, such as nickel and palladium. that will freely give away electrons when they react with carbon dioxide, thus chemically reducing this greenhouse gas into energy-rich carbon monoxide or methanol". This can be considered as a chemical route for the conversion of carbon dioxide into materials for biofuel production. The photosynthetic route through the use of plants is also another route for production of biofuel materials.

According to Rosenthal, "carbon monoxide is an important precursor to liquid hydrocarbons in the energy arena, in addition to its applications as an industrial chemical for producing plastics to detergents to the acetic acid used in food preservation, drug manufacturing and other fields".