Scientists at the Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien) in Austria have developed a new method of making fuel from CO2 and battery waste.
In a news article on 4 March, the researchers said they discovered that battery waste combined with used aluminium foil can produce a nanocatalyst that converts CO2 into methane, a valuable fuel for homes and industries.
This, they added, will reduce the battery waste problem and provide a climate-neutral fuel that is efficient and safe for the environment.
A breakthrough in battery recycling
Battery waste is an environmental challenge as it poses a threat to both human health and ecosystems, although they contain precious Nickel which is useful for producing new batteries.
The researchers were able to develop a process that can not only be used to recover nickel from spent nickel-metal hydride batteries, but also to further use the waste to make methane.
This is a major breakthrough in battery recycling and making of sustainable fuel while saving the environment.
Prof. Günther Rupprechter from the Institute of Materials Chemistry at TU Wien, head of the research project said:
“Modern batteries, such as nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium-ion batteries, consist of different components, which makes recycling and recovery processes technologically challenging. Improper disposal can lead to chemical leaks, fires, and pollution.”
The team extracted nickel from used Ni-MH batteries and recovered alumina from used aluminium foil, which were then converted into a high-performance nanocatalyst using green chemistry methods.
Scaling up
After this groundbreaking discovery, the team is seeking a way to scale up the production of methane using this method.
“Now we want to investigate how this process can be scaled up for technological applications. We believe that this approach can transform sustainable fuel production. Our approach shows a solution to the climate problem – and in a way that also helps to solve a pressing waste problem.”
The original study was published in the Green Chemistry journal and forms the foundation for environment-friendly methane production.
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