September 4, 2023 - Braskem Brazil, the world's sixth-largest petrochemical company, and the University of São Paulo (USP) have announced a partnership to develop research routes for converting carbon dioxide into other chemical products.
Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases and one of the biggest contributors to climate change. The mission of the project is to utilize the technologies resulting from these lines of research to reuse carbon dioxide in order to obtain chemical products such as olefins and alcohols, thereby reducing their emissions into the environment, and to use them as raw materials for the production of polyolefins.
Collaboration with USP through the Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Innovation (RCGI), which also includes the participation of the Federal University of San Carlos (UFSCar), focuses on innovative pathways for the conversion of carbon dioxide through catalytic and electrocatalytic processes. Whereas in conventional processes in the chemical industry catalysts (materials that initiate chemical reactions) are thermally activated, electrocatalysis uses electricity to activate them. Renewable energy sources can therefore be partially or fully utilized for CO2 conversion. The program, which began a year ago, contemplates a total of five years of development at the laboratory scale, with the possibility of extension based on research progress.
Braskem will contribute its investment and expertise in industrial processes and will oversee and direct the research.The research teams at USP and UFSCar will utilize the laboratory's state-of-the-art infrastructure to coordinate and conduct the research with the assistance of a multidisciplinary team of chemists, physicists, engineers, etc., with varying degrees.
For Braskem, the partnership will also help it achieve its sustainable development goals, particularly in terms of becoming carbon neutral. The company expects to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
"In recent years, Braskem has signed several cooperation agreements to study possibilities and alternatives to the use of CO2 generated by its operations. With this new program, the company is expanding its collaboration with academia and working with major educational institutions across Brazil to help promote domestic research. We hope that this initiative benefits the industry in terms of CO2 and that we can learn and contribute by mobilizing our expertise to expand sustainable solutions for Brazil and the world," he added.
Once developed, the technology for converting carbon dioxide through catalytic and electrocatalytic conversion will be novel, innovative and disruptive, as the marketplace becomes increasingly demanding for projects that help combat climate change.
Rita Maria de Brito Alves, Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo and RCGI-USP researcher, said, "Partnerships between universities and the private sector are the basis for applied research, which contributes to the development of innovative products and processes, to the training of skilled professionals, and to competitiveness. The common goal is to generate knowledge and technology for the sustainable development of society as a whole".
