• Scientist have created Solar jet fuel for the first time
    12 replies, posted
[IMG]http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--qgnz1Poe--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/n2v4wtzzhor4xhmywhlv.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--PCcD6RKM--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/vzykmiekfhntsytewbi1.png[/IMG] [video=youtube;4aHXZEepUfU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aHXZEepUfU[/video] [QUOTE]The dream of producing hydrocarbon fuels from carbon dioxide and sunlight is one step closer thanks to chemists in Europe who have made jet fuel from scratch in a solar reactor for the first time. Although the chemists only produced enough kerosene to fill a glass jar, they believe a full-scale solar concentrator could produce 20,000 litres of jet fuel a day.‘This technology means we might one day produce cleaner and plentiful fuel for planes, cars and other forms of transport,’ said [URL="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDEQFjAA&url=http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/geoghegan-quinn/index_en.htm&ei=tANiU_vdDMXnOc7kgYgK&usg=AFQjCNFhFRXGfgtJwJ9srHC9Kk8KWV9mUA&sig2=uKFhh42GbEvTK9WChwfPCg&bvm=bv.65636070,d.ZWU"]Máire Geoghegan-Quinn[/URL], European commissioner for research, innovation and science. ‘This could greatly increase energy security and turn one of the main greenhouse gases responsible for global warming into a useful resource.’ The idea of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it into fuel is simple enough. At high temperatures carbon dioxide and water dissociate into hydrogen, carbon monoxide and oxygen. The hydrogen and carbon monoxide mixture, known as synthesis gas or ‘syngas’, can then be converted into liquid hydrocarbons such as petrol or kerosene via the [URL="http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/restricted/2011/May/LiquidAssets.asp"]well-established Fischer–Tropsch process[/URL], which was invented by the chemists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch in Germany in the mid 1920s. Unfortunately, the idea has suffered from two problems. One is that the dissociation of carbon dioxide and water only takes place at very high temperatures, typically above 2200°C. But the other, more difficult, problem is that the syngas cannot be tackled by the Fischer–Tropsch process until all the oxygen is removed as it is dangerously explosive. [URL="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDEQFjAA&url=http://www.bauhaus-luftfahrt.net/about-us/management/dr-andreas-sizmann/contact-form&ei=1ARiU9f-AsT3O4yvgfgL&usg=AFQjCNGnxdRWdPOqF18zCT6RDFsZ5mZ7Rw&sig2=PddQ_H6eENxCmzuxZ2Yukg&bvm=bv.65636070,d.ZWU"]Andreas Sizmann[/URL] at the German thinktank Bauhaus Luftfahrt, together with colleagues in the EU-backed [URL="http://www.solar-jet.aero/"]Solar-Jet[/URL] project, solved the first problem of generating high temperatures by exploiting a high-flux solar simulator at the Swiss university ETH Zurich – one that mimics the output from an actual solar concentrator. Various methods have been tried to effectively remove oxygen from syngas, but the one settled on by the Solar-Jet team was the use of cerium oxide, or ceria. When heated to around 1500°C by the concentrated sunlight, ceria reduces to release oxygen gas, which is piped out. In the next stage, this reduced metal oxide reacts with carbon dioxide and water to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide – syngas – taking up oxygen in the process. Finally, back in its original form, the ceria can be blasted with concentrated sunlight, reducing it once more and repeating the cycle.The benefit of using ceria is that the oxygen and syngas are produced at different steps and can, therefore, be collected separately, enabling the syngas to be fed straight into the Fischer–Tropsch process. This was performed onsite by Shell, a collaborator on the Solar-Jet project and one of several oil and gas companies developing Fischer–Tropsch for the production of kerosene from syngas. [h=3]Glass ceiling?[/h]So far the Solar-Jet group have only managed to produce a glassful of kerosene using the artificial sunlight, and carbon dioxide from a gas cylinder, with an average efficiency of 1.73%. Nonetheless, Sizmann believes it is a demonstration that will pave the way for renewable hydrocarbon fuels. ‘This is an extremely important milestone in the long-term process of developing a truly sustainable alternative fuel future,’ he says. ‘The process [draws] from virtually unlimited resources with no prohibitive cost “show stopper” in sight.’ Solar energy engineer [URL="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http://www.me.umn.edu/people/davidson.shtml&ei=ygxiU_GBFcW4O-nDgfgG&usg=AFQjCNFOoO9P5HvsdT0rMpW4vV_hDlzNbA&sig2=8PVwZfNuJ3ilmai5jpsDMw&bvm=bv.65636070,d.ZWU"]Jane Davidson[/URL] at the University of Minnesota in the US says the production of syngas using concentrated sunlight is still in the early stages of development. ‘Many groups around the world are working on the same process using different reactors, but [have] the same goal of reaching commercially viable solar-to-fuel efficiency,’ she adds. ‘It’s an exciting approach to synthetic fuels that also stores solar energy in chemical form.’[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/05/solar-jet-fuel-made-out-thin-air[/url] Yeah for science!
[QUOTE]Unfortunately, the idea has suffered from two problems. One is that the dissociation of carbon dioxide and water only takes place at very high temperatures, typically above 2200°C. But the other, more difficult, problem is that the syngas cannot be tackled by the Fischer–Tropsch process until all the oxygen is removed as it is dangerously explosive.[/QUOTE] There's always problems. 'Is nothing easy!?'
So, Good news, we have space fuel! Bad news, it's kinda dangerous! That's Science for ya.
Well I'd rather we take risks now and learn to make it safe while there isn't a massive time crunch than dealing with the tragedy resulting from it being pushed out in an undeveloped state when there is a need for these things at that very moment.
So basically, they coupled the cerium(IV)/cerium(III) oxide cycle with the Fischer–Tropsch process. [quote]So far the Solar-Jet group have only managed to produce a glassful of kerosene using the artificial sunlight, and carbon dioxide from a gas cylinder, with an average efficiency of 1.73%.[/quote] Still a long way to go, though, considering they used pure CO2 yet achieved an efficiency of 1.73%.
Presumably they'd need a better catalyst for it, like maybe forge the filter with platinum in addition to cerium, since apparently platinum's good as a catalyst, possibly due to it needing to be around 1768 Celsius to melt.
[QUOTE=ironman17;44719631]Presumably they'd need a better catalyst for it, like maybe forge the filter with platinum in addition to cerium, since apparently platinum's good as a catalyst, possibly due to it needing to be around 1768 Celsius to melt.[/QUOTE] that's not how catalysts work and catalysts only work for a few specific reactions each anyway
[QUOTE=Holt!;44719230]There's always problems. 'Is nothing easy!?'[/QUOTE] If they hadn't have overcome those problems, they wouldn't even have that kerosene that they got from the experiment.
This is fantastic news, a more developed offshoot of this could change how we develop space travel. On board fuel production from an open loop system, reminds me of the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet"]Bussard Ramjet[/URL].
-snipjeez-
i get the feeling that this has been out for the longest time and their just now letting us know.
[QUOTE=Headhumpy;44719478]So basically, they coupled the cerium(IV)/cerium(III) oxide cycle with the Fischer–Tropsch process. Still a long way to go, though, considering they used pure CO2 yet achieved an efficiency of 1.73%.[/QUOTE] Obviously efficiency gains are desirable, but do they need them to make this viable? If the system just sits there passively producing syngas from atmospheric CO2 and sunlight, the level of efficiency required should be fairly minimal.
[QUOTE=GunFox;44721983]Obviously efficiency gains are desirable, but do they need them to make this viable? If the system just sits there passively producing syngas from atmospheric CO2 and sunlight, the level of efficiency required should be fairly minimal.[/QUOTE] Well obviously if they plan on using is it in a business context more efficiency means higher revenue. If the cost of maintenance on the device is more then the projected profits then its not really worth it now is it.
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