International researchers say they have developed a method to convert carbon dioxide from industrial exhaust directly into a fuel precursor without first separating and purifying the gas, addressing a key barrier for many carbon capture and utilisation approaches.
The work, published in Nature Communications, targets the challenge posed by industrial flue gas, which typically contains relatively low concentrations of CO₂ mixed with large amounts of nitrogen and oxygen. These impurities can drive competing reactions that reduce the efficiency of CO₂ conversion systems.
The research team, led by the Université de Montpellier and Adelaide University, developed a system using an organic liquid designed to convert CO₂ from industrial emissions into carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a common intermediate used to manufacture fuels and chemicals.
Adelaide University Chemical Engineering Dean Professor Yan Jiao said the team’s approach uses an organic solvent mixture that weakens hydrogen bonding, suppressing unwanted side reactions while favouring CO₂ conversion. “Our work shows it is possible to use CO₂ directly from industrial exhaust streams without extensive purification, making carbon utilisation much more practical and potentially more economical,” Prof Jiao said.
“This could help heavy industries such as steel, alumina refining, cement, chemicals, and energy production move toward cleaner and more circular production,” he said.
In tests using simulated flue gas containing 15% CO₂ and 8% oxygen, the researchers reported almost 100% conversion selectivity to carbon monoxide. They said the process consumed 30.7 gigajoules of energy per tonne of CO produced, which they described as placing it among the most competitive direct carbon capture and conversion approaches reported so far.
The team also reported continuous operation for more than 100 hours while maintaining performance.
To assess renewable energy applications, the researchers coupled the system with a high-efficiency solar cell, reporting a solar-to-fuel efficiency of about 5.5%, which they said was comparable to systems that use purified CO₂ feedstocks.
Dr Damien Voiry from the Université de Montpellier said the work suggests a route to turning industrial emissions into valuable products while reducing the need for energy-intensive capture infrastructure. “We found that controlling hydrogen-bond interactions is the key to suppressing unwanted reactions and enabling highly selective carbon dioxide conversion,” Dr Voiry said.
The paper, titled ‘Hydrogen Bond Network Disruption Enables Efficient Direct Reactive Capture of CO₂ from Flue Gas’, is authored by researchers from the Université de Montpellier, Adelaide University, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, and Southwest Jiaotong University. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-74647-z.
