Braskem and Northwestern University said on Oct. 24 they will jointly develop a technology platform to convert carbon dioxide waste into chemical products.
The process is based on co-electrolysis, which produces two reactions at the same time to create intermediate chemicals or final products.
The project is led by Professor Ted Sargent and Dr. Ke Xie at Northwestern, global experts in the field of electrocatalysis for CO2 conversion. The goal of the project, currently in the development stage, is to build a versatile and modular system with high energy efficiency.
In addition to efficiency gains, this approach enables the transformation of a higher volume of CO2, substantially contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases, according to a news release.
The laboratory-scale development stage, which began one year ago, is expected to advance considerably in the three years of the cooperation agreement, with the potential for scaling up and use in industrial applications after the technology is validated.
For Braskem, the investment in this partnership should help it to achieve its sustainable development targets, especially regarding reaching carbon neutrality and combating climate change. The company plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030 and attain carbon neutrality by 2050.
