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Posted on 04/27/2015 11:16:12 AM PDT by Hostage
Audi is making a new fuel for internal combustion engines that has the potential to make a big dent when it comes to climate change – that's because the synthetic diesel is made from just water and carbon dioxide.
The company's pilot plant, which is operated by German startup Sunfire in Dresden, produced its first batches of the "e-diesel" this month. German Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka put a few liters of the fuel in her work car, an Audi A8, to commemorate the accomplishment.
The base fuel is referred to as "blue crude," and begins by taking electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar or hydropower and using it to produce hydrogen from water via reversible electrolysis. The hydrogen is then mixed with CO2 that has been converted into CO in two chemical processes and the resulting reactions produce a liquid made from long-chain hydrocarbons – this is blue crude, which is then refined to create the end product, the synthetic e-diesel.
Audi says that the carbon dioxide used in the process is currently supplied by a biogas facility but, further adding to the green impacts of the process, some of the CO2 is captured directly from the ambient air, taking the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere.
(Excerpt) Read more at gizmag.com ...
I am much more trusting of organizations like the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) when the below was published a year ago:
"The Navy Just Turned Seawater Into Jet Fuel"
http://cdn.defenseone.com/defenseone/interstitial.html?v=2.1.1&rf=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.defenseone.com%2Ftechnology%2F2014%2F04%2Fnavy-just-turned-seawater-jet-fuel%2F82300%2F
And note the US Navy innovation does not require expensive electrolysis.
The rest of the Audi story:
Sunfire claims that analysis shows the properties of the synthetic diesel are superior to fossil fuel, and that its lack of sulphur and fossil-based oil makes it more environmentally friendly. The overall energy efficiency of the fuel creation process using renewable power is around 70 percent, according to Audi.
“The engine runs quieter and fewer pollutants are being created,” says Sunfire CTO Christian von Olshausen.
The fuel can be combined with conventional diesel fuel, as is often done with biodiesel fuels already.
The Dresden pilot plant is set to produce about 42 gallons (160 l) of synthetic diesel per day in the coming months, and the two companies say the next step is to build a bigger plant.
“If we get the first sales order, we will be ready to commercialize our technology,” von Olshausen says.
Sunfire anticipates that the market price for the synthetic diesel could be between 1 and 1.5 Euros per liter, which would be nearly competitive or a little more expensive than current diesel prices in Europe, but the actual figure will be largely dependent on the price of electricity.
For an overview of the production process, check out the promotional video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Edq_Irstk
Nothing new in Germany.
Yes I knew about that but this has a different twist. Read the article.
Many of us older guys produce tons of gas daily. All renewable energy. So what’s the big deal ? ;-)
CO2 is captured directly from the ambient air, taking the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And when the fuel is burned, this CO2 turns into what, skittles?
Clickable link to the US Navy innovation:
If we had damn near infinite cheap energy this would be just fine, something like thorium reactors or orbital solar...
but we don;t
yet..
why am i skeptical?
I wonder when the whole material balance is taken into account -(generation of electricity,capture of Co2, etc) that the net output is what they think, green wise.
Well, they say they’re taking CO2 “greenhouse gas” out of the atmosphere. Good for them, because we all know that CO2 isn’t required by the ecosystem for anything.
Sounds like neat technology, but if this were feasible, we'd be running hydrogen fuel cells. Just no getting around the laws of thermal dynamics.
Water to cost 5.00/gallon.
This is a common conspiracy theory, but despite the myth, there is no evidence that any "corporate giants" have bought out and suppressed superior technologies.
What has actually happened in the real world is that large corporations have produced superior technologies, failed to appreciate their potential, and allowed other smaller, more flexible companies to steal their lunch.
Xerox's PARC is a perfect and fully documented example of this.
You can make anything out of anything, provided you have the right elements and are willing to throw enough energy at it. This article tries to gloss that over by saying their energy is ‘green’ e.g. subsidized. The real question is can it make a profit on it’s own merits without unfair financial advantages.
Whatever it turns into, it would happen anyway using fossil fuels.
No doubt they will get extreme gov’t funding from around the world to pursue their global warming agenda only to collapse when it becomes evident this is all a scam.
Just my opinion based on past observations of the global warming scheme.
(This could be real)... that is energy that fuels these scams time after time, in times such as these; cynicism is most often prudent.
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