Update on Air Fuel Synthesis Gasoline
Original post:
Another topic near and dear to our hearts.
(and to at least one Nobel Laureate)
From The Independent:
Exclusive: Pioneering scientists turn fresh air into petrol in massive boost in fight against energy crisis
A small British company has produced the first "petrol from air" using a revolutionary technology that promises to solve the energy crisis as well as helping to curb global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Air Fuel Synthesis in Stockton-on-Tees has produced five litres of petrol since August when it switched on a small refinery that manufactures gasoline from carbon dioxide and water vapour.
The company hopes that within two years it will build a larger, commercial-scale plant capable of producing a ton of petrol a day. It also plans to produce green aviation fuel to make airline travel more carbon-neutral.
Tim Fox, head of energy and the environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London, said: "It sounds too good to be true, but it is true. They are doing it and I've been up there myself and seen it. The innovation is that they have made it happen as a process. It's a small pilot plant capturing air and extracting CO2 from it based on well known principles. It uses well-known and well-established components but what is exciting is that they have put the whole thing together and shown that it can work."Back in January we noted a Possibly Major Materials Science Breakthrough: "Carbon Dioxide Super Scrubber?":
Although the process is still in the early developmental stages and needs to take electricity from the national grid to work, the company believes it will eventually be possible to use power from renewable sources such as wind farms or tidal barrages.
"We've taken carbon dioxide from air and hydrogen from water and turned these elements into petrol," said Peter Harrison, the company's chief executive, who revealed the breakthrough at a conference at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London....MORE
...Here's the paper, recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society:That was followed by March's "With Current Natural Gas Prices The Methanol Economy is Coming":
Carbon Dioxide Capture from the Air Using a Polyamine Based Regenerable Solid Adsorbent
Alain Goeppert*, Miklos Czaun, Robert B. May, G. K. Surya Prakash*, George A. Olah*,Abstract
and S. R. Narayanan
Easy to prepare solid materials based on fumed silica impregnated with polyethylenimine (PEI) were found to be superior adsorbents for the capture of carbon dioxide directly from air. During the initial hours of the experiments, these adsorbents effectively scrubbed all the CO2 from the air despite its very low concentration. The effect of moisture on the adsorption characteristics and capacity was studied at room temperature. Regenerative ability was also determined in a short series of adsorption/desorption cycles.That Olah fellow is a bit slower than the rest, he's encumbered by some hardwareAnd here..
The easiest way to make methanol uses natural gas (specifically the methane) as the feedstock. Links below.And many more.
From The Economist's Babbage blog:
Meet the meth drinkers...
