Washington, December 8: A research team from Sandia National Laboratories is developing a prototype which will use concentrated solar power to chemically “reenergize” carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide.

The researchers say that the carbon monoxide thus made may be used to make hydrogen or to serve as a building block to synthesize a liquid combustible fuel like methanol, gasoline, diesel or even jet fuel.

Dubbed the Counter Rotating Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (CR5), the prototype device will break a carbon-oxygen bond in the carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide and oxygen in two distinct steps, they add.

This work is being seen as a major piece of an approach to converting carbon dioxide into fuel from sunlight. The researchers term this approach “Sunshine to Petrol” (S2P).

The inventor of CR5, Rich Diver, says that the original idea for the device was to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen, and to use hydrogen for fuelling a potential hydrogen economy.

Ellen B. Stechel, manager of Sandia’s Fuels and Energy Transitions Department, says that researchers have known for a long time that it might be possible to recycle carbon dioxide, but many thought it could not be made practical, either technically or economically.

“Hence, it has not been pursued with much vigour. Not only did we think it was possible, the team has developed a prototype that they fully anticipate will successfully break down carbon dioxide in a clever and viable two-step process, ” she says.

She has revealed that one factor behind the invention of the prototype device is the need to reduce greenhouse gases.

“This invention, though probably a good 15 to 20 years away from being on the market, holds a real promise of being able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while preserving options to keep using fuels we know and love. Recycling carbon dioxide into fuels provides an attractive alternative to burying it, ” she says.

Diver says: “What’s exciting about this invention is that it will result in fossil fuels being used at least twice, meaning less carbon dioxide being put into the atmosphere and a reduction of the rate that fossil fuels are pulled out of the ground. ”

For instance, he says, coal would be burnt at a clean coal power plant. The carbon dioxide originating from it would be captured and reduced to carbon monoxide in the CR5, which would then be the starting point of making gasoline, jet fuel, methanol, or almost any type of liquid fuel.

Jim E. Miller, co-researcher on the project, says that while the first step would be to capture the carbon dioxide from sources where it is concentrated — like power plants, smokestacks, and breweries — the ultimate goal would be to snatch it out of the air. A S2P system that includes atmospheric carbon dioxide capture could produce carbon-neutral liquid fuels.

“Our overall objective with this prototype is to demonstrate the practicality of the CR5 concept and to determine how test results from small-scale testing can be expanded to work in real devices. The design is conservative compared to what might eventually be developed, ” Miller says.

Diver says the prototype should be completed by early next year. (ANI)