Page 84 - North American Clean Energy January February 2015

energy storage

Using Atmospheric

Carbon Dioxide

For energy storage systems & products
By David Stauth

Image of nanoporous grapheme; the chart outlines its electronic properties
(Courtesy of Oregon State University)

have discovered a new way By comparison, other methods to make nanoporous graphene often use corrosive and
CHEMISTS AND ENGINEERS AT OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY (OSU)
to take some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide that’s causing the greenhouse efect and toxic chemicals, in systems that would be challenging to use at large commercial levels.
use it to make an advanced, high-value material for use in energy storage products.
“Most commercial carbon supercapacitors now use activated carbon as electrodes, but
his innovation in nanotechnology won’t soak up enough carbon to solve global their electrical conductivity is very low,” Ji said. “We want fast energy storage and release
warming, researchers say. However, it will provide an environmentally friendly, low- that will deliver more power, and for that purpose the more conductive nanoporous

cost way to make nanoporous graphene for use in “supercapacitors”—devices that can graphene will work much better. his solves a major problem in creating more powerful
store energy and release it rapidly. Such devices are used in everything from consumer supercapacitors.”
electronics to heavy industry, and can be useful in hybrid electric vehicles and even in A supercapacitor is a type of energy storage device, but it can be recharged much faster
renewable energy storage systems.
than a battery and has a great deal more power. hey are mostly used in any type of device

Energy storage technologies have the potential to ofset the intermittency problem of where rapid power storage and short, but powerful energy release is needed.
renewable energy sources by storing generated energy, making it accessible upon demand.
Aside from being used in consumer electronics, they have applications in heavy industry
In the chemical reaction that was developed for the purpose of this study*, the end with the ability to power anything from a crane to the emergency slides on an aircraft. A
result is nanoporous graphene, a form of carbon that’s ordered in its atomic and crystalline supercapacitor can also capture energy that might otherwise be wasted, such as in braking

structure. It has an enormous speciic surface area of about 1,900 square meters per gram operations. hey stand to greatly improve the eiciency of hybrid electric automobiles.
of material. Because of that, it also ofers an electrical conductivity at least 10 times higher Perhaps, most notably, their energy storage abilities may help “smooth out” the power
than the activated carbon now used to make commercial supercapacitors.
low of intermittent renewable sources, such as from wind power systems. Due to the
“here are other ways to fabricate nanoporous graphene, but this approach is faster,
variable nature of the wind, combining energy storage sources can allow for more reliable

has little environmental impact and costs less,” said Xiulei (David) Ji, an OSU assistant wind power integration (even when the winds are calm).
professor of chemistry in the OSU College of Science, and lead author on the study. “he he use for supercapacitors is continually expanding. For instance, their Nanoporous
product exhibits high surface area, great conductivity and, most importantly, it has a fairly carbon materials can adsorb gas pollutants, work as environmental ilters, and be used in

high density that is comparable to the commercial activated carbons.
water treatment. Progress has really only been constrained by their cost so far.
“And, the carbon source is carbon dioxide, which is a sustainable resource, to say the
least,” Ji added. “his methodology uses abundant carbon dioxide, while making energy * he indings were recently published in “Nano Energy” by scientists from the OSU College of
storage products of signiicant value.”
Science, OSU College of Engineering, Argonne National Laboratory, the University of South

Because the materials involved are inexpensive and the fabrication is simple, this Florida, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Albany, Oregon (the work was
approach has the potential to be scaled up for production at commercial levels, according to supported by OSU).
Ji.
he chemical reaction outlined in this study involved a mixture of magnesium and zinc Oregon State University (OSU) is one of only two universities in the US that is designated a Land

metals—a combination discovered for the irst time. hese metals were heated to a high Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, and Sun Grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university
temperature in the presence of a low of carbon dioxide, so as to produce a controlled to hold the Carnegie Foundation’s top designation for research institutions and its prestigious
“metallothermic” reaction. he reaction converted the elements into their metal oxides Community Engagement classiication.
and nanoporous graphene, a pure form of carbon that’s remarkably strong. It can also

eiciently conduct heat and electricity. he metal oxides can later even be recycled back Oregon State University (OSU) | http://oregonstate.edu
into their metallic forms to make the industrial process more eicient.

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