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While renewable energy sources are already reducing the need for CO2-emitting, fossil fuel-burning power plants, industrial plants that make intense use of fossil fuels are harder to make sustainable, so flue gas capture is essential.

Furthermore, the presence of oxygen impurities in flue gas results in undesired side reactions, which significantly reduces the efficiency of the CO2 reduction process.

"We found that integrating acidic electrolytes with this composite system significantly suppresses the undesired side reactions from oxygen impurities in flue gas," explained Asst Prof Lum.

"Our novel technique demonstrates a potential pathway for the development of efficient electrolysers for the direct conversion of CO2 in flue gas, using simple yet effective electrolyte and catalyst design strategies to advance integrated sustainability solutions," added Asst Prof Lum.

Their advocates often point to the Petra Nova project southwest of Houston, which used a system that captured more than 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from its flue gas — although that success was tempered by extensive outages, according to the Energy Department’s 2020 conclusions about the project.