Trash into treasure: making clean fuel from waste and sunlight
09 October 2024Professor Erwin Reisner and his team are developing prototype devices that convert waste, water and air into practical fuels and chemicals.
Professor Erwin Reisner and his team are developing prototype devices that convert waste, water and air into practical fuels and chemicals.
Researchers have found a way to super-charge the ‘engine’ of sustainable fuel generation – by giving the materials a little twist.
Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be captured from industrial processes – or even directly from the air – and transformed into clean, sustainable fuels using just the energy from the sun.
Researchers have developed a solar-powered technology that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels that can be added directly to a car’s engine as drop-in fuel.
Air travel is one of the major contributors to global warming. Cambridge scientists are working with leading energy companies to help develop sustainable aviation fuels, which could reduce the industry’s carbon emissions by up to 80%.
In the week of COP27 people across the world have flown to Sharm El Sheikh to discuss action on climate change. Aviation is a crucial way to bring us together to tackle this challenge – but it is also a major contributor to the problem.
Researchers have developed floating ‘artificial leaves’ that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water, and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea.
Researchers have developed an efficient concept to turn carbon dioxide into clean, sustainable fuels, without any unwanted by-products or waste.
Researchers have developed a standalone device that converts sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into a carbon-neutral fuel, without requiring any additional components or electricity.
Dr Jenny Zhang is a group leader and BBSRC David Phillips Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, where she is re-wiring photosynthesis to generate renewable fuels. Here, she tells us about why she switched from cancer research to sustainability, how her Fellowship programme is helping her develop leadership skills, and why eggs in her childhood home would regularly go missing.