'Dry water' could be used to store carbon dioxide

Liverpool University researchers believe a substance known as dry water could be used to absorb and store carbon dioxide. Ben Carter, researcher for study leader Prof Andrew Cooper, said that the substance became known as dry water because it consists of 95 per cent water and yet is a dry powder. Each powder particle contains a water droplet surrounded by modified silica. The silica coating prevents the water droplets from combining and turning back into a liquid. The result is a fine powder that can soak up gases, which chemically combine with the water molecules to form a hydrate. In laboratory-scale research, Cooper and colleagues found that dry water absorbed over three times as much carbon dioxide as ordinary, uncombined water and silica in the same space of time. In another potential application, the scientists showed that dry water is a promising means to speed up catalyzed reactions between hydrogen gas and maleic acid to produce succinic acid, a feedstock or raw material widely used to make drugs, food ingredients and other consumer products.