A UNIST research team has developed a technology to produce high-value-added aldehydes using byproduct gases. This technology is expected to play a key role in achieving self-sufficiency in the domestic chemical industry, reducing dependence on foreign chemical materials and enabling a stable response to supply chain crises.

UNIST (President Jong-Rae Park) announced on the 23rd that the team led by Professor Kwang-Jin Ahn of the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering and Professor Jeong-Woo Han of Seoul National University, in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Energy Research, developed a high-performance rhodium-based catalyst.

This catalyst efficiently converts olefins contained in byproduct gas into high-value aldehydes. Olefins are unsaturated hydrocarbon compounds with double bonds and, along with paraffins, are important raw materials in the chemical industry.

The research team has developed a new method for recycling waste byproduct gas. They also developed technology to convert the byproduct gas generated during the process of combining carbon dioxide with hydrogen to create fuel into high-value-added products.

To improve the performance of the rhodium catalyst, cerium oxide was introduced to improve the chemical properties of the catalyst. The research team successfully converted olefins contained in the by-product gas into high value-added chemicals called aldehydes using a heterogeneous catalyst with high reaction performance comparable to existing technologies.

Byproduct gas, a byproduct of the chemical reaction that converts synthesis gas to liquid, has previously received little attention. The rhodium catalyst developed by the research team significantly improves performance while reducing its size and increasing its dispersibility, making it reusable. This has enabled a new appreciation of the industrial value of byproduct gas.

Professor Ahn Gwang-jin explained, “This technology will play a significant role in increasing the value of chemical reaction byproducts,” and “It can also be applied to technology that protects the environment by converting carbon dioxide into fuel.”

Professor Han Jeong-woo of Seoul National University evaluated that “the catalyst developed through this research maximized the efficiency and stability of rhodium.”

The research was conducted with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the results were published in the international academic journal 'Chemical Engineering Journal'.