All posts tagged: methanol

How to protect yourself from tainted drinks while on vacation amid methanol poisoning fears

How to protect yourself from tainted drinks while on vacation amid methanol poisoning fears

Published by skeptic

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Travelers have been put on high alert after seven tourists were recently hospitalized in Fiji from consuming alcoholic beverages at a five-star resort. Officials have since concluded that “no illicit substances or methanol” were found in the liquor samples or ingredients consumed by the affected vacationers. In a warning shared on December 15, the Australian travel board urged visitors to “be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks” and to “get urgent medical help” if drink spiking is suspected. Although no illicit substances were detected in the tourists’ drinks, their sudden illnesses have still raised concerns over the risk of methanol poisoning and drink spiking at luxury facilities. Drink spiking is when someone puts alcohol or drugs in another person’s beverage without their …

Researchers have successfully transformed CO2 into methanol using sunlight

Researchers have successfully transformed CO2 into methanol using sunlight

Published by skeptic

A breakthrough in the quest for green fuels by converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol using sunlight and copper atoms.(CREDIT: University of Nottingham) Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the quest for green fuels by converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol using sunlight and copper atoms. The researchers designed a novel material composed of copper anchored on nanocrystalline carbon nitride, where the copper atoms are integrated within the carbon nitride structure. Reactor where the catalyst is tested for turning CO2 to methanol. (CREDIT: University of Nottingham) This arrangement facilitates the movement of electrons from carbon nitride to CO2 when exposed to solar irradiation, a crucial step in methanol production. The findings of this study have been published in the Sustainable Energy & Fuels Journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Photocatalysis, the process of using light to drive chemical reactions, involves illuminating a semiconductor material to energize electrons, enabling them to react with CO2 and water to produce various products, including methanol. However, conventional methods suffer from inefficiency and lack of selectivity. Carbon dioxide is …