Chemical used to create much of world’s plastics produced from waste gas

Researchers at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in the United States have developed an innovative electrolyzer that produces ethylene—a key chemical used in much of the world’s plastics—from syngas, a waste gas derived from plastic. Traditional ethylene production generates a substantial carbon footprint, producing one ton of carbon dioxide per ton of ethylene. The new method uses electricity and a novel material, sodium polyacrylate (PANa), to catalyze the reaction efficiently, reducing the overall energy consumption of the process by over 60% compared to previous electrified methods. This system operates in a solid-state, gas-fed configuration without liquid water, mimicking a liquid salt environment to enhance performance and stability over extended periods. The research, published in Nature Energy, highlights the potential for this technology to integrate with renewable energy sources, enabling a greener and more circular ethylene supply chain that minimizes fossil fuel use. The team overcame challenges related to activating the CO-to-ethylene transformation without alkali an