Turning CO2 Emissions into Fuel

Science, Engineering

Carbon dioxide converted into cost-competitive fuels and chemicals? NSF-funded engineer Etosha Cave and her team at Opus 12 have developed technology to do just that, in the size of a small suitcase.

Here we have a scientist named Etosha Cave. We'll get back to her in just a second. But first... imagine that carbon dioxide - you know the same CO2 found in your breath, factory emissions, or even your car muffler - could be converted into fuel or essentially anything you can create from petroleum today.

Now back to Etosha. She, along with her team at Opus 12, are doing just that, through funding and support from the National Science Foundation. Currently they have created 16 carbon-based compounds from CO2 and are shedding a whole new light on how we see - well use - carbon dioxide.

The importance of this product would be that we can create a revenue stream out of carbon dioxide, so instead of throwing it away and emitting into the air, a company could do something with it and actually create a new revenue stream out of waste CO2.

We can put the CO2 conversion power of about 37,000 trees into something the size of a checked-in suitcase. It was an unfortunate event close to home that sparked Etosha's interest in clean technology. Growing up in a neighborhood that was adjacent to an oil and gas waste site it was eventually found to be linked to higher rates of rare diseases and cancers.

Seeing this as a teenager really got me thinking about you know is there different ways we can deal with waste? Can we have cleaner forms of electricity? And I kind of think our technology could certainly make an impact, help slow down the global warming that's happening.

This Black History Month, the National Science Foundation proudly recognizes Etosha Cave - one of many groundbreaking scientists who are making tomorrow's history today.

Credit: National Science Foundation / Opus 12
Country of origin: United States
Language: English
Release date: February 28, 2019

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