Posted on 07/16/2007 6:59:23 PM PDT by Thalos
Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have created a device that uses sunlight to transform harmful CO2 gas into fuel that could replace all the gasoline used in transportation.
Clifford Kubiak, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Aaron Sathrum have developed a prototype device that can capture energy from the sun, convert it to electrical energy and “split” carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen.
The amazing process produces CO (carbon monoxide) which can be processed by bacterial fermentation to produce ethanol, and massive amounts industrial chemicals used to produce plastics. By splitting CO2 you can save fuel, produce useful chemicals and eliminate global warming greenhouse gases.
The device designed by Kubiak and Sathrum to split carbon dioxide utilizes a semiconductor and two thin layers of catalysts. It splits carbon dioxide to generate carbon monoxide and oxygen in a three-step process. The first step is the capture of solar energy photons by the semiconductor. The second step is the conversion of optical energy into electrical energy by the semiconductor. The third step is the deployment of electrical energy to the catalysts. The catalysts convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide on one side of the device and to oxygen on the other side.
The US uses about 400 million gallon of gasoline a day and produces about 50 million tons of CO2. The goal now is to scale this process up to replace that amount of gasoline and convert most of the manmade CO2 gases in the US.
==> “Algore needs to lead by example... he should mount one of these puppies on the roof of his house.” <==
No, he needs to shove one up his personal methane emitter.
“What are they doing with the carbon monoxide again?”
They’re pumping it into the room where their paper is being peer reviewed by actual scientists.
This tends to limit the number of dissenting reports.
The bottom line is that CO2 is not a problem in the atmosphere.
Nature has provided us with the most efficient carbon based fuels. We simply refuse to develop them.
The oceans are Huge moderating carbon sinks that will keep the atmosphere in balance.
I’d like to see us off of OPEC dependance.
Ethanol is a stupid answer, that ties agriculture and food prices to energy.
Lets get us some shale oil and tap the gulf and anwr
Unfortunately, Kubiak and Sathrum recently tested their device in a garage and died.
Some say he knows about as much about science as he does about running the state. ;)
Waste heat from coal plants?
Maybe place the converter portion of the device in the stack flow, beyond whatever sulfer squelchers are present; and place the solar cell portion on the outside, with wires & collector tubing as & where needed?
Even if it only worked during daylight hours on sunny days, it would still be a big drop in stack CO^2.
Do on-site conversion of the CO to fuel.
Well actually trees cause smog so I guess they’ll keep doing that but don’t tell the greens.
Well, I might be dumb as L, but hasn’t the earth already proven it is a self-correcting organism? If it isn’t, how has it supported life for so long.
And as an aside, it’s been my experience when you try to fix something that is not broken, it usually ends up broke.
???? ping
So you’re gonna hang a tub of that stuff on every cows butt, exhaust pipe, and furnace vent in the world? It’s also a bit hard to route the output of vegitative decay, volcanic eruption, and grass fires through a chemical vat, not to mention the metabolic product of all the breathing in the world.
Hilarious.
My first thought: the Greenies ain't gonna like this...
If I was the king of the trees, I'd tell the trees to go on strike...
1.) No shade for you, stupid humans!
2.) Extra leaves this fall!
3.) You think your sewer line is clogged today!? Just wait!!
Yep. Actually, since most cars on the road are now equipped with computerized electronic fuel injection, unburned hydrocarbons are a much smaller problem than back in the days of carbureted engines and overdue tune-ups.
If eliminating CO2 is a real priority, the best thing we could do is take a hacksaw to our catalytic converters. The states should lead the fight against greenhouse gases by legislating away the "exhaust sniffer" component of annual safety inspection. Why, it's their carbon-neutral duty to do so!
Good place to bump this thread. CO is probably worse than CO2.
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