New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
Posted by Danger on November 24th, 2009 filed in CoooooL, It's Science
Talk about a Eureka moment.
Scientists at Sandia National Labs, seeking a means to create cheap and abundant hydrogen to power a hydrogen economy, realized they could use the same technology to “reverse-combust” CO2 back into fuel.
Researchers still have to improve the efficiency of the system, but they recently demonstrated a working prototype of their “Sunshine to Petrol” machine that converts waste CO2 to carbon monoxide, and then syngas, consuming nothing but solar energy.
The device, boasting the simple title Counter-Rotating-Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (we’ll go with “CR5″) sets off a thermo-chemical reaction by exposing an iron-rich composite to concentrated solar heat.
The composite sheds an oxygen molecule when heated and gets one back as it cools, and therein lies the eureka.
The cylindrical metal CR5 is divided into hot and cold chambers. Solar energy heats the hot chamber to a scorching 2,700 degrees, hot enough to force the iron oxide composite to lose oxygen atoms.
The composite is then thrust into the cool chamber, which is filled with carbon dioxide.
As it cools, the iron oxide snatches back its lost oxygen atoms, leaving behind carbon monoxide.
via:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/co2-recycler-uses-sunlight-turn-waste-carbon-back-fuel
November 24th, 2009 at 3:13 PM
AMEN BROTHAS N SISTAS! Ahhh, that lil bit of faith in the human race feels good.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:09 PM
This is wonderful!
Who would have thought?! I praise these people for their genius.
November 24th, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Pretty cool. Most efforts to make synthetic fuel revolve around using genetically engineered algae and the like. This seems more straight-forward though.
November 25th, 2009 at 11:00 AM
it always surprises me that it is only a few people, compared to the billions of us that there are, who are the driving force of the human races advancement. If we’re going to be saved it will be those few men and women that do it.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Clovenskull, we can thank our decaying public school system for some of that I believe. I read an article in pop science about future geniuses of our nation that are working on these kinds of world saving ideas and almost all the kids were home schooled. Public schools teach us to consume and support the state not create.