An EU-funded project called SOLAR-JET has released the first in the world “solar” jet fuel from water and carbon dioxide. Researchers first successfully demonstrated all renewable kerosene production chain, using concentrated light as an energy source high temperatures.
A photo from open sources
The project is still at an experimental stage, reactive laboratory fuel measured glasses, and at the same time uses imitation of sunlight. However the results allow us to hope that in the future any liquid hydrocarbon fuels can be produced from sunlight, CO2 and water.
At the first stage, concentrated light is an imitation of solar light – was used to convert carbon dioxide and water into synthesis gas in a high temperature solar reactor containing metal oxide catalysts. Then synthesis gas (mixture hydrogen and carbon monoxide) was converted to kerosene with using the stable Fischer-Tropsch process.
Although the production of synthesis gas using concentrated solar radiation is still at an early stage of development, processing of synthesis gas into kerosene is already being deployed by companies in including Shell, globally. Combination of these two approaches has great potential to ensure safe, sustainable and scalable deliveries of aviation fuel as well as diesel and gasoline fuels and even plastic. Synthesized fuels already certified and can be used in existing vehicles and aircraft without modifying them engines or fuel logistics infrastructure.
At the next stage of the project, it is planned to optimize the solar reactor and evaluate whether the technology will work in a broader scale and at a competitive price. Search for new, sustainable energy sources will remain EU priority until 2020 years, according to the seven-year research and innovation program, launched from January 1, 2014. The program includes development the next generation of technologies for the production of biological and environmentally friendly fuels.
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