Closed-cycle CO2 cars might be a reality one day
Do you hate the idea of your car spewing exhaust? There might be a way to stop it without using any expensive batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. According to the New York Times, a pair of scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are working on a way to trap exhaust fumes (by blowing them over a liquid solution that contains potassium carbonate) and recycle the trapped carbon into either methanol, gasoline or jet fuel. F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr. have named their process Green Freedom and a press release by the LANL says the recycling could be done on cars or planes. The fuel generation doesn't take place on board - the carbon needs to be brought to a facility where the CO2 would be turned into the fuel - and the carbon transformation process is itself energy-intensive. Kubic and Martin are working on a way to streamline this step of the dream (possibly using nuclear reactors), but they're not there yet. Oh, and what is the dream? Recycled gasoline that costs $1.40 a gallon to make. Can't hate that.
[Source: New York Times, LANL, h/t to Ideno]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KarenRei 7:42PM (2/21/2008)
Or, rather than jumping through all these wasteful steps, you could simply drive an EV.
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jpm100 10:01AM (2/22/2008)
Water would be fare easier to capture, handle and store, if you're going to use nuclear reactors to turn it back to fuel.
The problem with carbon capture technology is where to store the stuff or how to convert it to something more 'storable' or useful. Once you factor that back in, fuel cells that have water as their byproduct seems the better solution overall.
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Anthony 12:35PM (2/22/2008)
Ok for trapping the Co2 and converting it - sounds great !! Cleaner air outside - re-generation of fuel ..., but how about having an "on board" system which makes sure that the Co2 is reduced to the minimum if not completely cleared ! want to learn more about cleaner and healthier car cabin..? It can happen now and it's not complicated - log on to : www.airpackage.eu - check out the (safety page)from the home page.
Look forward to receiving some comments.
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Carlos Ferreira 2:46PM (2/22/2008)
I have 3 comments/questions on the idea:
1. Could we use the same method to capture carbon from the atmosphere? Could answer a few questions.
2. In every 50s 'and 60's police film, someone dies because of CO fumes. I don't want to drive around, closed inside a thing that carries poisonous gases in the trunk!
3. How about other gases and particles my car spews out?
Carlos Ferreira
http://www.greencarvalue.blogspot.com
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richard schumacher 1:26PM (4/25/2009)
The writer of the short article above was misled by the photo of the exhaust pipe. In fact the proposed process takes CO2 directly from the air. The capture and conversion is not done on-board vehicles. See the referenced NYT article for a better description and a summary of the benefits of artificial liquid hydrocarbon vehicle fuels.
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