How Far Has South Korea's Carbon Dioxide Resource Technology Advanced? [Reading Science]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Since 2010, the Korean government has been steadily promoting research and development (R&D) for carbon dioxide resource utilization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A representative example is the ‘korea CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage)-2020 project’ conducted from 2011 until last year. A cross-ministerial carbon resource utilization project is also underway, and fundamental technology research is active, with the establishment of a next-generation carbon resource utilization research group affiliated with government-funded research institutes.

A representative case is the high-efficiency catalyst manufacturing technology for converting carbon dioxide into naphtha, announced last month by the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology. Naphtha, used as a basic raw material for plastics and other products, will remain a necessary substance even after the petroleum era ends. It is expected to achieve a dual effect of ‘massive reduction of carbon dioxide’ and ‘production of basic raw materials.’ The Chemical Research Institute developed a method to easily react carbon dioxide at low temperatures while producing fewer byproducts. They significantly enhanced performance by alloying cobalt with iron at the atomic level.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) also developed a sea urchin-shaped copper nanocatalyst electrode in March that can obtain ethylene and ethanol with high efficiency in an electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion system. Because it has an irregular needle shape like a sea urchin, the catalytic activity is increased at the pointed tips of the needles. According to KIST, using this catalyst results in higher ethylene generation selectivity at lower voltages compared to conventional copper catalysts, improving ethylene production by more than 50%. They also confirmed the feasibility of commercialization by fabricating a system for mass production by stacking multiple CO₂ conversion cells.

The Korea Institute of Energy Research recently developed an electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion technology with twice the productivity of existing technologies. Although it was a simple method that replaced the use of electrolytes by blowing in steam, when applied to the production of formate and carbon monoxide, it recorded more than twice the productivity and high efficiency in the 90% range compared to existing methods. It also reduced electrical energy consumption by more than 30%. The institute expects that using this principle could lower product production costs by more than 50%. It is already set for rapid commercialization, having signed a technology transfer contract with a private company on the 12th of last month.

The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) developed a technology to produce eco-friendly butanol, usable as automobile fuel, with high efficiency from carbon dioxide. By using an electrochemical catalyst that introduces phosphorus (P) into copper (Cu) metal, they succeeded in producing butanol with more than 70 times higher efficiency than before. Butanol is a transportation energy that can replace gasoline, offering high energy density and enabling high fuel efficiency. It can also be used in making paint, ink, and glue, as well as a cleaning agent for semiconductors and precision machinery. It is also utilized in food, soap, and cosmetics.

Additionally, last month, GIST developed a technology to convert carbon dioxide into non-natural gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is used as a treatment for central nervous system diseases such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Although methods for synthesizing non-natural gamma-aminobutyric acid have existed, they involved multi-step reactions that were costly and generated significant toxicity and waste. The GIST research team succeeded in obtaining non-natural gamma-aminobutyric acid with up to 96% yield by using a light-responsive iridium catalyst to bifunctionalize organic allenes, carbon dioxide, and amines.