Context:
National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (NCoE-CCU) at IIT Bombay has developed a new technology for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO).
Working Process:
- Operates through an electro-catalytic process.
- Unlike traditional methods that require high temperatures (400-750 °C), and the presence of the equivalent amount of hydrogen, this process can operate at ambient temperatures (25-40 °C) in the presence of water, eliminating the need for high-temperature conditions.
- The energy for this electro-catalysis reaction can be sourced directly from renewable energy, such as solar panels or windmills, ensuring a carbon-neutral operation.
- Electro-catalytic Process –
- A catalytic process that involves the direct transfer of electrons between an electrode and reactants.
- This process is environmentally friendly, efficient, and inexpensive, used in many sustainable energy technologies.
Carbon monoxide (CO):
- A colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly less dense than air.
- Sources of CO: CO is a by-product of the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons.
- Common sources – burning fossil fuels like natural gas, petrol, coal and oil, wood smoke, car and truck exhausts etc.
- Effects –
- Toxic to humans as it displaces oxygen from the haemoglobin of the blood.
- CO is short lived because of the role it plays in the formation of ground-level ozone.
- Significance of CO for the Steel Industry:
- CO is a crucial chemical in the steel industry, used in the conversion of iron ores to metallic iron in blast furnaces.
- CO is a widely used chemical in the industry especially in the form of syngas.
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
Consider the following:
1. Carbon monoxide
2. Methane
3. Ozone
4. Sulphur dioxide
Which of the above are released into atmosphere due to the burning of crop/biomass residue?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer: (d)
