Diamonds could mitigate climate change
The DIACAT project (Diamond materials for the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to fine chemicals and fuels using visible light) is developing diamond-based technology to capture CO2 emitted by power stations that could then be transformed into ingredients for use in fuel or for the creation of new chemicals.
Project leader Professor Anke Krueger of Würzburg University, Germany, said, “At the moment we use fossil fuels to produce chemicals, to fuel our cars or to heat our homes, and that produces as a side product – CO2. The long term aim is to transform CO2 from the atmosphere or from exhaust gases into something useful.”
Synthetic diamonds are placed in a solution that causes them to emit electrons under a specific wavelength of light. These electrons react with the CO2 and thus transform into other substances. Ultra-violet light, for example, has been used to transform CO2 into a fuel using this method.
The technology, Krueger concedes, remains at least a decade from commercial availability, but she maintains optimism with regards the process’s environmental benefits.
“I cannot promise now what shape the technology will have but we will find a way to make it work,” Krueger continued.
The use of light upon naturally occurring substances to create energy is reminiscent of the process of photosynthesis. Scientists continue to be inspired by and mimic Nature as we seek more and more ways to reduce the CO2 emissions in our atmosphere.
