Scientists discover new crop-free ethanol production technique

Stanford University scientists have found a unique liquid ethanol production method that uses carbon monoxide gas.

The scientists hope this new discovery will provide an eco-friendly, efficient alternative to conventional ethanol production from corn and other crops.

Results from the study are published in the advanced online edition of the journal Nature, released on April 9.

Matthew Kanan, an assistant professor of chemistry at Stanford and co-author of the Nature study, says: 'We have discovered the first metal catalyst that can produce appreciable amounts of ethanol from carbon monoxide at room temperature and pressure – a notoriously difficult electrochemical reaction.'

The oxide-derived copper catalyst converts carbon monoxide to ethanol, which would then be fed into the copper-oxide catalyst and powered by a renewable energy source such as solar or wind. The catalyst consists of a continuous network of copper nanocrystals with well-defined grain boundaries. The scientists believe that the nanocrystalline network may be critical for producing ethanol.

Matthew Kanan and Stanford graduate student Christina Li developed the new technique, which does not need any fermentation and, if scaled up, could help address many of the land and water use issues that relate to the production of ethanol. 'Our study demonstrates the feasibility of making ethanol by electrocatalysis,' Kanan adds. 'But we have a lot more work to do to make a device that is practical.'