CO2 Conversion

From harmful exhaust gas to a resource - CO2 as a valuable raw material

The amount of CO2 in our atmosphere has steadily increased since the Industrial Revolution. One possible approach to slow this development and achieve the European Green Deal—climate neutrality in Europe by 2050—is to close the CO2 cycle. That means no longer viewing CO2 only as a waste product arising, for example, from industrial processes, but using it as a raw material to produce chemicals such as methanol or e-fuels.

In the concluded Sparkling Science project CO2 Conversion, more than 200 students from the higher technical colleges (HTLs) in Innsbruck and Kramsach worked together with researchers from Montanuniversität Leoben and the Tyrol University of Teacher Education (PH Tirol) on three different steps necessary to successfully close the CO2 cycle:

Before CO2 can be converted at all, it must be recovered from industrial flue gases. As part of the project, students developed and tested a lab-scale prototype to separate CO2 from exhaust gases. In addition, simulations of CO2 capture using realistic flue-gas compositions from various industry partners were carried out to enable a cost estimate.

Because CO2 is a very stable molecule, catalysts are needed to activate it so it can be used as a raw material and converted into other chemicals. Various materials that could serve as such catalysts were produced at Montanuniversität and tested at the HTL in Kramsach in a reactor built specifically for this purpose.

The students also created informational materials for the project to raise public awareness of CO2 as a resource. Infographics and information boards on various topics (CO2 cycle, CO2 certificates, e-fuels etc.) for different target groups were developed, and mascots for the project were designed. The results were showcased in an exhibition at the PH Tirol and published in book form.

The project results were presented to a wider audience through talks and posters at schools and scientific conferences and were published in several publications. Through media coverage, the exhibition and the book, as well as a film about the project, an even larger audience was reached.

In several workshops, pre-scientific papers and diploma theses as part of final high school exams, and through student visits to Montanuniversität related to the project topics, additional interested citizen scientists were able to contribute to various areas of the project.

This project is already completed.