Cost-effective catalyst developed to recycle main causes of climate change: CO2, CH4

A cost-effective catalyst has been developed to recycle two of the main causes behind climate change - carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

In a study, published in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, scientists have described how they created an advanced nickel-based catalyst strengthened with tin and ceria.

They later used it to transform CO2 and CH4 into a synthesis gas that can be used to produce fuels and a range of valuable chemicals.

While carbon capture technology is common, it can be expensive and, in most cases, requires extreme and precise conditions for the process to be successful.

It is hoped the new catalyst will help make the technology more widely available across industry, and both easier and cheaper for it to be extracted from the atmosphere.

"This is an extremely exciting project and we believe we have achieved something here that can make a real impact on CO2 emissions," said Tomas R Reina, from the University of Surrey in the UK.

"Utilising CO2 in this way is a viable alternative to traditional carbon capture methods, which could make a sizable impact to the health of our planet," said Harvey Arellano- Garcia, from the University of Surrey.