Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have developed a new method of obtaining coal. If the idea is accepted, it means big money, but also a rescue for the planet.
The technology is quite complicated. First, you need high pressure. Later, Cer is added, which is the element that is the catalyst. Thanks to that, it is possible to separate oxygen and coal and then turn gas into a solid. Until now, carbon dioxide has been converted into a solid only at extremely high temperatures, which made the process unprofitable. It turned out that if you use liquid metals as catalysts, it is possible to convert the gas to carbon at room temperature. Thanks to this the process is much more efficient and cost-effective.
There are also side effects of this process, but they are also positive. Coal can stop the electric charge and become a super capacitor with potential as a component of future cars. In addition, during the change of carbon dioxide into carbon, a synthetic fuel is created and this can be used in industry. Of course, to implement these solutions, they must pay off. Therefore, the biggest challenge for scientists is to reduce costs.
Besides, scientists are also working on other coal technologies. Graphene is considered to be potentially the most breakthrough in the near future of electronics. It can be used to create supercapacitors and superconductors.
