Electricity and Carbon Dioxide Used to Generate Alternative Fuel

Electricity and Carbon Dioxide Used to Generate Alternative Fuel

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Imagine being able to use electricity to power your car – even if it’s not an electric vehicle. Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have for the first time demonstrated a method for converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuel isobutanol using electricity.

Today, electrical energy generated by various methods is still difficult to store efficiently. Chemical batteries, hydraulic pumping and water splitting suffer from low energy-density storage or incompatibility with current transportation infrastructure. In a study recently published in the journal Science, a research team reports a method for storing electrical energy as chemical energy in higher alcohols, which can be used as liquid transportation fuels.