University of Sydney researchers are proposing a new way to curb industrial emissions, by tapping into the "atomic intelligence" of liquid metals to deliver greener and more sustainable chemical reactions.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Liquid gallium in a Petri dish at the University of Sydney's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Credit: University of Sydney/Philip Ritchie Despite global efforts towards renewable energy and electrification, chemical production accounts for approximately 10–15% of total greenhouse gas emissions. More than 10% of the world's total energy is used in chemical factories, with these numbers rising. This is due to the large amounts of energy required to cause chemical reactions used to make different products. Publishing in Science, researchers have developed a road map which demonstrates how chemical processing can be transformed by changing the nature in which reactions occur. Head of School of Chemical Engineering Professor Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, who led the research said, "People often forget that chemical reactions are at the heart of all we have and use; almost all modern…