Panj is pulping a catalyst.

Congregation of the Secretary-General

“CO2 is not a bad thing, but a carbon source that can not only be toys, but also dress, cigar water!” In the eye of Professor Panjj, School of optical and electronic information at the University of Chinese Science and Technology, many consider carbon dioxide as a “question” as a “problem”.

The Chinese Scientific Journal journalist learned from the University of China’s China-China Science and Technology that the Panjj team had been working for four years with carbon dioxide as a raw material for the production of acetic anhydride that had revealed the dream of “zero carbon”. Many of the indicators of the results of its research have significantly broken the world record and the related paper was published in Nature on 3 May.

However, their papers have also gone through a three-fold shift from Science to Nature and from 15 hours to 820 hours of “runs” at the request of the trial experts.

Scientific dream of a “zero carbon”

Why is carbon dioxide “on-line”? Pontifical told China’s Scientific Journal, how to deal with the greenhouse gas emissions represented by carbon dioxide was a difficult issue for humanity after the industrial revolution. In the past, some researchers have also carried out research on the use of CO2, but most have been used solely. For example, CO2 in beverages, when human consumption continues, throwing CO2 has been released, mostly to zero emissions and recycle uses.

Can carbon dioxide emissions be emitted with more advanced technologies and access to human-needs production resources so that they can be lost, recycled and truly “zero carbon”? With this dream, after his return in 2018, Panjj was prepared to conduct a technical study on zero carbon production on the basis of past studies. The study was officially launched in 1969 with the participation of Dr. Sanuary in the Panj team.

The team targeted “carbon zero” manufacture, starting with acetic anhydride, using clean renewable energy, and producing processes that did not produce carbon dioxide but also carbon dioxide.

Acetic anhydride, known as acetic acid, is an important organic matter, and the manufacture of fibre-optic clothing, cigarettes, plastics, etc. requires considerable use. Traditional methods of production of acetic anhydride are commonly used in chemical synthetics or in sediment fed fermentation, using these methods, which “emissions of about 1.6 kg of carbon dioxide per production of acetic anhydride”. As the world’s first largest producer of acetic anhydride, our production of acetic anhydride exceeds 8 million tons a year, putting considerable strain on ecological environmental governance.

Acid-targeted production, the Panjj team, together with the E.H. Sargent Group of the University of Toronto, Canada, and the Macro Group of the University of Vhane Technology, carries out the “zero carbon” manufacture of acetic anhydride through electro-catalytic CO2 regenerative technologies, with the expectation that carbon dioxide “magic” land will be dressed, cigarette, etc.

Electricity-catalyst CO2 regenerative technologies are a potentially clean energy storage tool, but how to produce single high-value-added products at high selectivity and speed in the electrolysis process is a long-chained problem. Electricized water is only oxygen and hydrogen, while CO2 is available for more than 20 products.

“A challenge of this study is that of the more than 20 products derived from electrolysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) we are perfected with what we want.” Panjj introduced that, in order to stabilize the rate of acid production, the primary problem to be addressed by the research team was the design and tying of response devices, followed by the selection of catalysts.

Taking advantage of innovations in high pressure devices and catalysts, the team used the two-step approach of CO2 repositories, based on the technology of electric catalysts for CO2 rescheduling, to stabilize the key intermediate base of the acetic acid response path, with the eventual high yield rate synthetic acetic anhydride.

Study difficulties given by Nature

In order to stabilize the key intermediate base of the acid response path and achieve the zero carbon reserve target, the team has autonomously invented a three-pronged high-pressure interface, on which a series of studies have been conducted.

“At the outset, there are many difficulties.” Team members, Kim Hak-Su, told journalists that the previous phase of the technology was outside the country and the team, led by the National Post Ponte, was autonomous in the development of experimental equipment, upgrading the equipment from the perilous version to a high-pressed version, without repeating the data at that time. Questions such as “no full access to the experimental floor” were identified. In addition, the selection of appropriate catalysts is a difficult process.

These problems were resolved, and they were finally able to obtain the important results of the research “limiting the use of carbon dioxide equivalent to the completion of the carbon sequestration backbone”. Its main rationale is the use of carbon dioxide and water as raw materials for the production of acetic acid.

The experiment was successful and team members were gaining ground. The results of the paper were dropped to Science, but were soon rejected. In 2021, they referred the paper to Nature, and the penultimate expert presented “intestability is not sufficient”. At that time, their experiment stabilized for only 15 hours.

The restructuring of equipment, the optimization of the catalytic option and the more fine-tuning of the experiment led to a series of efforts, which culminated in the upgrading of stability to 50 hours and the reshuffling of contributions. However, dramatic events have taken place. The Natural Drafting Expert wrote that 50 hours were not enough, as scientists in the relevant fields had published their results, enabling them to maintain at least 50 per cent acetic anhydride over 500 hours a row.

Competition in experimental data corresponds to intense international competition. The continued restructuring of equipment, the optimization of the selection of catalysts and the more fine-tuning experimentation led to a 200-hour break in the team’s experimental stability. “No stop!”

300 hours, 400 hours, 500 hours! “To continue!”

Once the 500-hour world record is updated, team members value experimental equipment. In order to avoid being artificially interrupted, they stated at the laboratory: “The major experiments are under way and others are being suspended”. In order to prevent delays in the entry of the building’s security, cleaning, etc., they posted the announcement: “The major experiment is under way, telephone contact is required for 15 minutes”.

Eventually, after a period of intense operation, the experiment stopped at the point of 820 hours.

Pontifical told journalists: “The reason for the suspension is not the experiment itself, but rather a problem.