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Re: Scientists Use Sunlight to Make Fuel From CO2
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Originally Posted by Michaelangelica
I can't get my head around this.
Is it my lack of chemistry or is it a huge hoax?
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It's not a hoax.
Here's a quote from the article:
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The prototype will be about the size and shape of a beer keg. It will contain 14 cobalt ferrite rings, each about one foot in diameter and turning at one revolution per minute. An 88-square meter solar furnace will blast sunlight into the unit, heating the rings to about 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, cobalt ferrite releases oxygen. When the rings cool to about 2,000 degrees, they're exposed to CO2.
Since the cobalt ferrite is now missing oxygen, it snatches some from the CO2, leaving behind just carbon monoxide -- a building block for making hydrocarbons -- that can then be used to make methanol or gasoline. And with the cobalt ferrite restored to its original state, the device is ready for another cycle.
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So it's simply a novel means to convert different substances using the sun's heat energy to drive chemical reactions.
My biggest question is about the cobalt ferrite rings. How expensive and energy intensive are they to produce? Is cobalt ferrite found naturally occuring? |
Re: Scientists Use Sunlight to Make Fuel From CO2
