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The Future Of Carbon Dioxide

The Future Of Carbon Dioxide

How carbon capture and reuse can support net-zero manufacturing and a circular economy.

Professor Alex Cowan has published an article in CPI’s ‘Insights on Innovation’ discussing his work within the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy.

‘In the UK our current approach to using carbon in fuels is linear, from extracting fossils fuels and combusting them, then releasing CO2 into the environment as waste.

However, by feeding this ​‘waste’ back into the process, a more circular carbon economy can be created. Effective carbon capture and utilisation provides a pathway towards the ultimate target of net-zero emissions, whilst providing access to vital carbon-based species.

A large number of ways to generate sustainable carbon-based materials and molecules from waste, either in the form of CO2 or as a solid carbon waste, have been proposed. In reality, a range of different complimentary and enabling technologies need to be explored and developed. These span areas such as electrochemistry, bio-conversion, waste digestion, and thermal catalysis. With so many different possibilities, careful evaluation and analysis will help to identify the most promising pathways and develop effective technology.

The National Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy (NIC3E) is led by the University of Loughborough and it brings together both university and industry partners to address these challenges.’

The full article is available to read online here.