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Canadian engineers on course to make plastics out of sunshine, carbon emissions
Source: Xinhua 2018-05-18 04:19:57
WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Canadian engineers took a substantial step towards enabling manufacturers to create plastics out of sunshine and pollution and addressed a key challenge associated with carbon capture.
They used a thin copper-based catalyst and an experimental strategy to transform captured carbon dioxide to ethylene, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Science.
Fossil fuels offers raw materials from which plastics are made and also produces climate-warming carbon dioxide. The precursors for plastics is responsible for 1.4 percent of global carbon emissions, according to the International Energy Agency estimates.
Now, researchers led by University of Toronto Professor Ted Sargent is turning this process upside down: using renewable electricity to transform the carbon into ethylene, a precursor of many plastics.
More:
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/18/c_137187284.htm
