{"id":11616,"date":"2012-10-12T10:44:31","date_gmt":"2012-10-12T14:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=11616"},"modified":"2012-10-12T10:44:31","modified_gmt":"2012-10-12T14:44:31","slug":"nsf-grant-funds-research-on-co2-as-fossil-fuel-substitute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=11616","title":{"rendered":"NSF Grant Funds Research on CO2 as Fossil Fuel Substitute"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tayhas<\/a>
Tayhas Palmore (Brown University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brown University<\/a> in Providence received a $1.75 million grant for research on substituting carbon dioxide for fossil fuels in industrial chemicals. The funding from National Science Foundation’s Centers for Chemical Innovation<\/a> program will support a joint chemical innovation program at Brown and Yale universities, headed by principal investigator Tayhas Palmore<\/a> (pictured left), a materials scientist at Brown.<\/p>\n

The Brown-Yale Center for Chemical Innovation<\/a> aims to make it possible for carbon dioxide (CO2) to become a sustainable feedstock for large-scale commodity chemicals. Many of these chemicals are now derived from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and a source of greenhouse gases. Because of the abundance of CO2, its catalytic conversion into alternative feedstocks could offer a feasible alternative to petroleum. More advances are needed, however, to increase the range of compounds that can be synthesized from CO2.<\/p>\n

Palmore’s team will first focus on three commodity chemicals: ethylene, acrylates, and formate. These chemicals are produced in multi-million ton quantities each year and are synthesized largely from petroleum feedstocks. They also serve as inputs for more complex and specialty chemicals.<\/p>\n

This project will be part of Brown’s Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation. The grant will support seven other investigators<\/a> from the chemistry and engineering departments at Brown and Yale.<\/p>\n

NSF’s Centers for Chemical Innovation program supports research that addresses long-term challenges in chemistry that can lead to innovation and transformative change. The program funds research in two phases, with the second (continuation) phase scheduled to begin in 2016.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n