Video: Sustainable fuel produced from ambient air and sunlight
S. Himmelstein | November 16, 2021Researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Germany, and ETH Zurich, Switzerland, have demonstrated a process that produces carbon-neutral transportation fuels from sunlight and air. A rooftop-mounted solar mini-refinery synthesizes methanol, kerosene and other liquid fuels in a multi-stage thermochemical process.
Using concentrated solar radiation, a high-temperature solar reactor splits carbon dioxide and water extracted directly from air and produces syngas, which is then processed into drop-in liquid hydrocarbon fuels that are compatible with existing infrastructures for fuel distribution, storage and utilization, and can contribute to sustainable aviation and shipping.
The mini-refinery includes a direct air capture unit based on an adsorption-desorption cyclic process applied to an amine-functionalized sorbent to concurrently extract carbon dioxide and water directly from ambient air, which are then fed to a solar redox unit. This refinery component supports thermochemical splitting of carbon dioxide and water via a reduction-oxidation cyclic process using non-stoichiometric ceria to generate syngas composed of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Produced syngas is sent to a gas-to-liquid unit for processing into the desired liquid hydrocarbons.
The mini-refinery converts water and carbon dioxide extracted from air into a syngas mixture, which is further processed into drop-in fuels such as kerosene. Source: ETH Zurich
The process detailed in Nature is driven by a solar reactor consisting of a cylindrical cavity-receiver containing a reticulated porous structure made of ceria that is directly exposed to high-flux solar irradiation. The researchers plan to scale up the 5 kW solar reactor to develop a 1 MW solar reactor module and to raise process efficiency by improving heating recovery between the redox steps of the thermochemical cycle.
Isn't this just "Round Robin"? You start with carbon and end up with carbon.
In reply to #1
Yes, but it seems as if you are not adding carbon? And local production saves rather significant transport costs (and energy). Comes down to cost per litre in the end, amongst a few others.