Researchers are introducing an innovative method to reduce industrial emissions, leveraging the ‘atomic intelligence’ of liquid metals to enable more eco-friendly and sustainable chemical processes.
Researchers from the University of Sydney are introducing an innovative method to reduce industrial emissions, leveraging the “atomic intelligence” of liquid metals to enable more eco-friendly and sustainable chemical processes.
Despite global initiatives focusing on renewable energy and electrification, chemical manufacturing is responsible for around 10-15 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Chemical production facilities consume over 10 percent of the world’s overall energy, and this figure is on the rise.
This increase is mainly due to the substantial energy required to facilitate the chemical reactions necessary for producing various products. A recent study published in Science outlines a strategy for revolutionizing chemical processing by altering the way reactions are conducted.
Professor Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, Head of the School of Chemical Engineering and the lead researcher, noted: “Many people overlook that chemical reactions are fundamental to everything we utilize; almost all contemporary products are manufactured through some type of chemical reaction. The existing methods for creating these products, ranging from high-quality plastics for medical tools to ammonia for farming, consume large amounts of energy, contributing to increasing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Various chemical reactions, such as those involved in producing green hydrogen, creating specific chemical structures like the polymers used in everyday household items, and breaking down materials such as microplastics and persistent substances like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), can all benefit from enhancements using liquid metals.
“The application of liquid metals in chemical reactions is a relatively recent concept; the majority of chemical reactions still depend on age-old methods. Harnessing the ‘atomic intelligence’ of metals in liquid form to facilitate reactions is largely untapped but possesses significant potential to reshape the future of the chemical industry,” explained Professor Kalantar-Zadeh.
Last year, his team experimented with a method utilizing liquid metals, aiming to replace the energy-heavy processes of traditional chemical engineering that employ solid catalysts—such as solid metals or compounds that instigate chemical reactions—to manufacture a variety of products including plastics, fertilizers, fuels, and raw materials. They recently showcased the feasibility of using liquid metal alloys, composed of various metals, for hydrogen production.
The team’s method allows for chemical reactions to take place at lower temperatures, in contrast to existing techniques that necessitate heating metals to several thousand degrees Celsius. Instead, liquid metals dissolve catalytic metals—such as tin, copper, silver, and nickel—at low temperatures, forming alloys that facilitate chemical reactions using less energy.
