Adam J. Rondinone, senior staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, will present “Carbon Dioxide into Ethanol: Waste-to-Fuel Technology” at this week’s Science Forum at noon Friday, March 31.
Rondinone’s talk will be held in Thompson-Boiling Arena Café, Rooms C-D. The 40-minute presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer discussion.
The Science Forum is free and open to the public. Attendees may bring their own lunch or purchase lunch at the café.
In a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, Rondinone will discuss how scientists at ORNL have developed a new process that utilizes tiny spikes of copper and carbon to turn carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas—into ethanol.
Electrochemical fuels offer an alternative to batteries for low-carbon transportation. While the fuel cost is higher, the fuel may be stored, and transported, and it dispenses more easily with a much lower vehicle capital cost.
The Science Forum began in 1933 and is sponsored by UT’s Quest research magazine. The forum was designed to provide the public, students, and other researchers a chance to learn about scientific research void of jargon.