Sun-powered device converts CO2 into fuel

This is good news ... synthetic-photosynthesis

maybe in a few million years We'll catch up with plants.

I think I still prefer using algae to clean flue gases using up the CO2 (as well as some of the other gases). Then using the resulting algae to make ethanol or diesel.

------"However, the point is that this conversion stage is *solar* powered. "--------

So are plants.

----"The biggest problem with the use of renewables is the lack of consistency - it's not sunny 24/7, the wind stops blowing etc etc. On top of that, we have very few ways to store that energy for use outside the generating period."---------

Plants grow when it is cloudy---in fact, they usually grow much faster when it gets cloudy and rains. Photosynthesis is a two stage process, a light stage, {energy capture} and a dark stage{energy conversion}. Plants continue to grow and convert energy captured in daylight to stored chemical energy at night----something no human made solar cells do--they work at night. The best that man made solar cells can do is convert light into electricity. No light, no electrcity.

------"With conversion tech like this, that sort of problem can be very much reduced because it allows, essentially, the storage of solar energy. Sure that means using up energy to get fuel, but the sun isn't going anywhere for a while."--------

Biomass(any plant matter) is stored solar energy. We can use it as is(firewood for instance) or we can convert it into something else that will work better for what we need done, ethanol for instance. If we use solar energy in the conversion process(or biomass)---the resulting fuel is still solar energy, just in a different form(ehthanol for instance is solar energy converted to chemical form---solar energy in a mason jar).

This whole thing just reminds me once again that man is not as smart as he thinks he is. All this effort and money to produce miniscule amounts of something that nature produces billions of tons of every day. Why not let nature do the work----it does it a lot better than we do. Why not work with nature instead of against it?

This whole field of research is, quite literally, awesome.

As others rightly point out, a seemingly inherent flaw in the process is the energy input requirement, which would seem at first glance to make the whole thing nonsensical.

However, the point is that this conversion stage is *solar* powered. The biggest problem with the use of renewables is the lack of consistency - it's not sunny 24/7, the wind stops blowing etc etc. On top of that, we have very few ways to store that energy for use outside the generating period.

With conversion tech like this, that sort of problem can be very much reduced because it allows, essentially, the storage of solar energy. Sure that means using up energy to get fuel, but the sun isn't going anywhere for a while.

As unimatrix said above, if we can manage to avoid completely wrecking the place for a while this is the sort of research that will help us sort out the mess we've already got.

Plants take in CO2 from the atmosphere, use visible light to and water to convert it into glucose. Which is then converted into sugars, starches, lipids, cellulose and proteins. And they give off oxygen---which all animals need to breathe, including humans.

Plants also provide food, clothing and shelter. We can eat plants. We can wear plants. We can even build houses with plants.

And plants don't cost us anything to produce, they do that all by themselves.

And we can make all kinds of fuels from plants. Including biofuels that will do anything petroleum can do. We can make all kinds of plastics from plants.

And plants have been doing these things for about 4 billion years.

Plants are pretty to look at. Some kinds smell really nice. Plants make shade that keeps you cool in the hot sun, or you can dry them out, cut them up and make a fire to keep warm when it gets really cold. It is fun to watch a fire made with plants---and there are no commercials. Or, you can make rope out of plants--weave it into a hammock, tie it up between two plants and take a nap in the cool shade on a hot day.

Maybe someday, with enough research and money scientists will be able to artificially do what plants already do for free. Maybe in about 4 billion years.

Till then, I'll just wait around in the shade under the plants, in my hammock made out of plants, and sip marguaritas made out of plants. Give me a call when the scientists come up with something better.

"The energy provided by the sunlight transformed the carbon dioxide and water vapour into methane and related organic compounds, such as ethane and propane, at rates as high as 160 microlitres an hour per gram of nanotubes. This is 20 times higher than published results achieved using any previous method, but still too low to be immediately practical."

=\ At least it's an improvement from the past. 160 microlitres isn't much at all. . . We'd need maybe 1000 hours of waiting for some useful amount to be produced.

i just love science.. and the show weird science, which I'm hoping scientist would begin trying to make happen ;)

I love nanotechnology and chemistry-based inventions.

As a layperson, all you can say is, "Woah."

It is a good step towards oil-free living. We need more science postings. It is real hard to find science news on the media these days. Please keep them comming througth current.

Great break through guys! Keep up the good work!

It's still in it's beginning stages. They said it's cost prohibitive right now.
Just wish they could do it with natural plant materials. Plants naturally exchange CO2 for O2 and other good stuff!
At least with metals not so (as my grandmother would have said:) dear: titanium-oxide, copper and platinum! Yikes!

there is no energy gain, just what comes from the sun light. the fuel is just storing energy, the neat thing is no new carbon is being introduced. burning fosil fuels adds carbon to the air, making fuel from the air just uses whats already there.
plant a tree

yeaaaa!!!

wait. couldn't this be bad? no more shit in the air to actually prevent some of that light from coming in?

or has global dimming pretty much been shot down and i'm just behind in the times?

The people from PennState Center for Nanotechnology came into my class to get applicants for their internship. Pretty awesome stuff they showed us. This is one of many discoveries he showed us. It is truly an up and coming field.

www.cneu.psu.edu

Even if this is not the thing that’s going to save us, it’s nice to see that such amazing steps are being made. Maybe we have a chance after all.

This seems like an idea the big oil companies could get excited about.

They'll sell you fuel, you burn it, then they sell it back to you over, and over....

before we get too excited...it sounds great...but if it takes CO2 and water vapor, how much energy is needed to get JUST CO2 and water vapor to have the fuel? Do you actually get more energy out than what you put into it? Not yet...but maybe later.

And so that creates natural gas (of which currently there is no shortage, won't it be cheaper to drill for it?), which it sounds like they are suggesting you could burn as a fuel.

dzn_daniel says: "this means no more global warming"

So what is the output of burning natural gas?

"Natural gas burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, and produces less carbon dioxide per unit energy released. For an equivalent amount of heat, burning natural gas produces about 30% less carbon dioxide than burning petroleum and about 45% less than burning coal."

Yes, it burns more cleanly than oil and coal, but It still releases CO2.

So, if your goal is to "stop global warming" by reducing carbon emissions, how is creating natural gas for a fuel, which in turn produces CO2, a solution to global warming?

But if it's natural gas you want, we already have that. The Greens just don't want to drill for it.

Am I mistaken?

Be careful Al Gore is gonna put out a hit on ya! LOL!

this is absolutely amazing. its so scary, all of the terrible things that are going on in the world that we know about and (..eep..) don't know about. i hope we can start to really fix ourselves, and the world somehow finds some leaders that can put power and ego aside in order to save the world. good luck with that...

good news, very very good news. i'm sure you understand what this means. a catalyst doesn't get used up or wear out, it is like a toaster. this break through has been expected for a while.
the up comming mars long term manned mission depended on it. an unmanned fuel factory will land on mars long before the manned mission and make fuel from the co2 atmosphere, for the trip home. the plan was to bring hydrogen along but that may not be necessary, now that snow has been found forming after sun set. everything necessary for fuel maybe available in the mars air(co2+h2o).
obviously i'm rather excited about this, in a few years my garage will make all my fuel. there are so many applications possible; like replacing batterys with methane storage, what to speak of little things like stopping coal minning and oil drilling. oh and there's that thing about pulling co2 from the air.

cool. lets see it on the streets soon, preferably in our lifetimes.

hell ya science!

nwice

this means no more global warming....no joke...are mistakes turning into the solution...

awesome! now it's only a matter of time until some oil company tries to sabotage the project or lobby against it if/when it makes it up to the commercial production level.

sick.. sounds like the future is today!

...gewd..

Sweet! Science will save us if we do not destroy ourselves first.

Energy from CO2, now we're talking!