Synthesizing Carbon Materials from CO₂ to Support Tomorrow's Industries

It is predicted that oil production will start declining from 2030 onwards, and without any intervention, fossil fuels could be depleted within a century. From the perspective of fossil fuel depletion, finding alternative resources is a significant challenge for humanity. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) focuses on bridging the gap between seed innovative technology and business implementation and is also engaged in research aiming to create carbon materials from CO₂.

Carbon materials are used in various industries, including smartphones and essential components like tires for automobiles. Due to their lightweight and high strength properties, carbon materials are indispensable in a wide range of industrial products. However, with the decline of fossil fuels as mentioned earlier, obtaining raw materials becomes increasingly challenging. On the other hand, CO₂ emissions from industrial production processes continue to rise. If it becomes possible to produce existing alternative materials from CO₂, it could lead to a significant reduction in dependence on fossil fuels like oil and coal.

Currently, carbon materials are produced by pyrolyzing petroleum or coal. However, by utilizing electrolysis technology, it is possible to manufacture carbon materials from CO₂.

In the above illustration, for example, common table salt becomes liquid at around 800 ℃. When producing carbon materials from CO₂, molten salts such as dissolved table salt are used. While water transitions between liquid and solid states with temperature fluctuations in ambient conditions, various types of salts have melting points ranging from 400 to 500 ℃, where they become liquid. The reason for using molten salts instead of water is that water would decompose prior to CO₂ dissociation. However, CO₂ can be electrolyzed using molten salts, which remain in a liquid state. Oxygen (O₂) is produced at the anode, while carbon materials are generated at the cathode. While it is relatively straightforward to produce carbon materials from CO₂, the challenge lies in achieving the quality required for industrial products. With support from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), fundamental research is being conducted to synthesize carbon from CO₂, and efforts are ongoing to develop utilization technologies for carbon.

Being able to extract carbon materials from CO₂ will further advance our manufacturing capabilities. Therefore, at AIST, we continue our research efforts to produce high-quality carbon materials from CO₂.