Today, we know many ways to obtain various types of fuel, without resorting to the use of hydrocarbons extracted from the earth's interior. And, despite the fact that developments in the field of providing mankind with the same alternative energy through solar panels are already being successfully introduced into world practice, scientists do not abandon their attempts to find other equally effective ways. And recently, a group of experts from Switzerland succeeded in developing a new technology for producing liquid hydrocarbon fuels exclusively from sunlight and air.
Why is this needed?
First of all, such developments will help to make some of the most environmentally hazardous modes of transport (namely, sea and aviation) more environmentally friendly. The fact is that today for sea and river vessels, as well as for various types of aviation, fuel is used based on hydrocarbons obtained in the process of oil refining. Not only is it difficult to call the black gold mining process useful for our planet, but also the creation of energy efficient fuel is accompanied by the formation of harmful products that pollute the atmosphere of our planet.
The solar plant produces synthetic liquid fuel, which, when burned, emits as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as was previously extracted from the air for its own production. That is, in fact, we have an almost environmentally friendly product.
How it works
The system extracts carbon dioxide and water directly from the ambient air and separates them using solar energy. This process leads to the production of the so-called synthesis gas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which are then converted into kerosene, methanol and other hydrocarbons through simple chemical reactions. These fuels can be used in the existing transport infrastructure.
Promotional video:
This parabolic reflector, mounted on the roof of the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich, collects light and directs it to two reactors located in the middle of the installation.
Directly the "mini-plant" for the synthesis of fuel. It produces about one deciliter of fuel per day (just under half a cup).
Steinfeld and his team are already working on a large-scale test of their solar reactor at a large solar collection facility in the suburbs of Madrid as part of the Sun-to-Liquid project. The next goal of the group is to scale the technology for industrial implementation and make it economically competitive.
Installation principle
The technological chain of the new system includes three processes:
- Extraction of carbon dioxide and water from the air.
- Solar thermochemical decomposition of carbon dioxide and water.
- Their subsequent liquefaction into hydrocarbons.
The adsorption (i.e. absorption) process extracts carbon dioxide and water directly from the surrounding air. Both substrates are then placed in a solar reactor based on a cerium oxide ceramic structure. The temperature inside the solar reactor is 1500 degrees Celsius. These conditions make it possible to split water and carbon dioxide in the course of a two-stage reaction to form synthesis gas. As already mentioned above, synthesis gas is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon, which in turn can be used to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuel.
Vladimir Kuznetsov
