National University of Singapore researchers find better way to produce ethylene from waste

In Singapore, one of the most promising routes for diversifying fuel production from crude oil is using renewable electricity for electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into high-value products such as ethylene that today come almost exclusively from petroleum refining.

A team led by  the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS CDE), has now demonstrated a simple way to make that conversion far more efficient and greener. By coating copper catalysts with films just two to five nanometres thick of biopolymers sourced from seafood shells, wood and other biological waste, the researchers achieved 90% selectivity for multicarbon products at an industrially relevant current density of 1.6 amperes per square centimetre (A/cm2) and maintained 83% selectivity at an even higher current density of 2.2 A/cm2.

These are among the highest figures reported for copper-based CO2 conversion. The biopolymers can also fully replace Nafion and other fluorinated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the catalyst electrode, offering a pathway to cost-effective climate technology with fewer PFAS-containing components. This is pertinent at a time when regulatory phase-outs of forever chemicals are gathering steam worldwide.

The study was published in Nature Energy on 17 April 2026 as an open-access article.

Tags: ethylene, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Category: Research