Tracking the early stage developments: this issue we look at nanofiltration membranes, nanocatalysts and batteries made from nuclear waste.
Lab: Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), AustriaWhat: Using recovered nickel from spent batteries to create a nanocatalyst that produces methaneStage: TRL-1
Battery waste poses a serious environmental threat. Nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium-ion batteries, for instance, consist of different components that if not disposed of properly can lead to chemical leaks, fires and pollution.
While recycling and recovery processes for these batteries are technologically challenging, a team of researchers at TU Wien have developed a method that not only recovers nickel from spent Ni-MH batteries, but then uses that nickel to produce a nanocatalyst that converts CO2 into methane.
The extracted nickel is combined with recovered alumina from used aluminium foil. These materials are then converted into a high-performance nanocatalyst using green chemistry...