From CO2 to fuel
Fuel production using a device that bindsCO2 and is powered by sunlight - a sensational development by a team led by an Austrian scientist at the University of Cambridge.
In the journal "Nature Energy", Erwin Reisner 's team reports on a reactor that capturesCO2 from the air at night and converts it into so-called synthesis gas during the day using sunlight. The resulting gas could in turn be used for some pharmaceutical or chemical products or as fuel.
Promising technology with a problem
The problem with direct air capture (DAC) ofCO2 from the air is its cost and energy intensity, according to the researchers in their study.
The situation is similar with undergroundCO2 capture and storage (carbon capture and storage, CCS).
"Apart from the high costs and energy intensity, CCS also provides an excuse to continue burning fossil fuels," Reisner told APA.
Following the example of photosynthesis
For more than ten years, the Upper Austrian chemist has been working at the University of Cambridge on convertingCO2 into an energy source using sunlight and thus creating a circular economy.
This process is inspired by photosynthesis, except that fuel is produced instead of sugar.
How does the small reactor work?
The system, which works like a reactor, absorbsCO2 at night via specially designed DAC filters that bind with high affinity.
Sunlight is bundled by a parabolic mirror and directed onto the flow reactor. The heat generated in this way releases theCO2. The ultraviolet sunlight absorbed by a powder from a semiconductor photocatalyst triggers a chemical reaction that convertsCO2 into synthesis gas.
The technology now works in principle - however, the amount of synthesis gas produced is currently still less than one milliliter. Work is now underway on a larger version, which will be tested in the spring.
"We are also developing better catalysts in order to use visible light and thus increase the amount of synthesis gas produced," says Reisner.
Independently usable energy generation
"If we produce these devices on a large scale, they could solve two problems at once: RemovingCO2 from the atmosphere and creating a clean alternative to fossil fuels," first author Sayan Kar from Reisner's team states in a Cambridge University press release.
"The advantage of this approach is that no transportation or storage ofCO2 is necessary. In addition, the system can be used anywhere and is independent of emission sources," Reisner emphasized one of the biggest advantages of the model.
If they were larger, the reactors could be used independently and thus supply off-grid areas.
