SK Innovation tech turns 98% of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide

The Institute of Technology Innovation operated by SK Innovation Co. announced on Friday that it has developed electrochemical catalytic technology, which can transform carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, and is prepared for its commercialization. 

When the commercialization is complete, the technology can serve as a contingency plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

The research findings have been published on the website of the world-renowned publication Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. Elsevier, a Netherlands-based academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical and medical content.

Carbon monoxide is used as a refrigerant in fire extinguishers, to inflate life rafts and life jackets, for blasting coal, in foaming rubber and plastics, to promote the growth of plants in greenhouses, to immobilize animals before slaughter, and in carbonated beverages.

Methanol is industrially produced by carbon monoxide hydrogenation over copper-zinc catalysts. 

The industry is also researching ways to replace precious metal catalysts such as gold and silver with steel or nickel. 

Previously, catalysts took the form of hundreds of atoms lumped together. But SK Innovation was able to separate each atom to increase the performance of monatomic catalysts.

The latest technology can convert 98% of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, the highest such conversion rate ever published in an academic journal. 

“We took the accumulated research findings on catalyst capacity over many decades and applied that to carbon reduction technology,” said Lee Seong-Jun, the head of the Institute of Technology Innovation.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.