Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Molecule That Converts Carbon Discovered

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 12 2011 (IPS) - A molecule that converts carbon into substances used in the chemical industry has been discovered at Paulista State University in Brazil. This scientific finding can contribute both to the economy and to the mitigation of global warming. Named BDN, the molecule is a nitrogenated organic base that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) by way of molecular binding, forming carbamates, compounds that release the carbon selectively. This emission is controlled through the temperature to which the compound is subjected.

"As well as serving as a possible way to control the emission of CO2, one of the greenhouse gases, the carbamates can also be used in place of industrial methods that utilize toxic reagents to prepare organic compounds used as pesticides and pharmaceuticals," Eduardo Pérez González, one of the researchers, told Tierramérica.

"We knew that BDN could capture CO2 in the presence of water, but the chemical reaction without water expands its possible uses," he added.