Car fuel made from carbon dioxide and sunlight

[Strong]

New technology for "photosynthesising" fuel could lead to cars running on "petrol" made from carbon dioxide and sunlight. I actually saw a demonstration of a prototype of the one using mirrors about a year ago.

Article: Telegraph - Car fuel made from carbon dioxide and sunlight (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/green-motoring/7867960/Car-fuel-made-from-carbon-dioxide-and-sunlight.html)


Solar-powered reactors can take carbon dioxide and turn it into carbon monoxide. The same reactors can also be used to turn water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The two can then be reacted together with a catalyst to form hydrocarbon fuels, in a technique known as the Fischer-Tropsch process.

Fuels made in this way are sufficiently similar to those currently used in cars that major redesigns of engines and refuelling stations should not be necessary. If fuels can be made entirely from atmospheric carbon, running a car on that fuel would be carbon neutral.

[Atom]

Gasoline made from carbon dioxide and sunlight, wow, that seems almost sacrilegious. Beats the heck out of polluting the ocean though I'd say.

[Strong]

And if it can be made entirely from atmospheric carbon, it would be carbon neutral, that is to say it ain't gonna make things worst.

[Strong]

BTW Atom, I know you are interested in getting energy from the sun, so perhaps the announcement below might interest you.


Nearly $2bn (£1.3bn) in loan guarantees will be given to two companies to kick-start the US solar energy industry, President Barack Obama has announced.

One of the firms, Abengoa Solar, says that it is planning to build the largest solar power plant in the world in Arizona.

US to provide nearly $2bn for two solar energy projects (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/us_and_canada/10500164.stm)

That seems like a good start, although the Portuguese have similar plants already up and running.

[Atom]

I think that it would take solar power plants opening up pretty much simultaneously across the nation to provide a real solution, not just a couple of states.

[Strong]

Yep, and those photovoltaic cells still need to be improved, both in terms of conversion factors and longevity. In Portugal they plan to replace the all after ten years, that bumps up the cost considerably.

[Atom]

Good points. It actually may be too soon to go bigtime.