Synthesized 'solar' jet fuel: Renewable kerosene from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide

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With the first ever production of synthesized "solar" jet fuel, the EU-funded SOLAR-JET project has successfully demonstrated the entire production chain for renewable kerosene obtained directly from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, therein potentially revolutionizing the future of aviation. This process has also the potential to produce any other type of fuel for transport applications, such as diesel, gasoline or pure hydrogen in a more sustainable way.

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Cariboocoot

Re: Synthesized 'solar' jet fuel: Renewable kerosene from sunlight, water and carbon dio

Oh the irony of using clean solar to produce dirty hydrocarbons!

pleppik

Re: Synthesized 'solar' jet fuel: Renewable kerosene from sunlight, water and carbon dio

One, it's hard to beat hydrocarbons for transportation: the energy density is way higher than anything you can get from a battery.

Two, much of what makes hydrocarbons "dirty" is that we dig them up from underground, releasing sequestered carbon, and requiring a lot of refining to make them useful and remove contaminants. Synthesized hydrocarbons would be a lot cleaner.

Three, this is a lab demonstration, which makes it a very long way from being commercially viable. It will be decades (if longer) before we can go from "interesting experiment" to "industrial-scale factory."

nsaspook

Re: Synthesized 'solar' jet fuel: Renewable kerosene from sunlight, water and carbon dio

The US Navy has a program to use sea water to make jet fuel. It's not very efficent but if you have a idle reactor or two to power the process it's possible.
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA539765