New catalyst converts carbon dioxide to methanol at low pressure

The new catalyst converts carbon dioxide to methanol at low pressure

An international team of researchers from Stanford University, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center's National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) and the Technical University of Denmark has screened a new catalyst for converting carbon dioxide to methanol at low pressure, nickel-gallium (Ni5Ga3), through a computer. Lab tests confirmed that the computer made the right choice. At high temperatures, nickel-gallium produces more methanol than traditional copper-zinc-aluminum catalysts and greatly reduces the production of carbon monoxide, a by-product. The researchers pointed out that nickel is relatively abundant, and although gallium is more expensive, it is widely used in the electronics industry. This suggests that the new catalyst could eventually be scaled up for industrial use.