Low Temperature Liquid Metal Could Save 90% of Chemical Industry Energy

Chemical production using solid processes is energy intensive and causes over 10% of greenhouse emissions by requiring temperatures of up to a thousand degrees centigrade.
A new process instead uses liquid metals, in this case dissolving tin and nickel which gives them unique mobility, enabling them to migrate to the surface of liquid metals and react with input molecules such as canola oil. This results in the rotation, fragmentation, and reassembly of canola oil molecules into smaller organic chains, including propylene, a high-energy fuel crucial for many industries.

Reserarchers dissolved high melting point nickel and tin in a gallium based liquid metal with a melting point of only 30 degrees centigrade. Dissolving nickel in liquid gallium let them get access to liquid nickel at very low temperatures. This acts as a ‘super’ catalyst. In comparison solid nickel’s melting point is 1455 degrees centigrade. The same effect, to a lesser degree, is also experienced for tin metal in liquid gallium,” Dr Tang said.

The formula could also be used for other chemical reactions by mixing metals using the low temperature processes.

This could transform chemical engineering and reduce the use of energy by 90%.