The new reactor converts CO2 into syngas (Image: University of Cambridge)
Cars and planes could one day run on carbon dioxide drawn from the air and converted into fuel with the help of a solar-powered reactor, scientists say.
The reactor, which does not require fossil fuel-based power and could be used in remote locations, was developed by experts at Cambridge University.
Carbon capture and storage has been touted as a possible solution to the . It involves capturing CO2 emissions and storing them deep underground.
But the process in energy-intensive and concerns have been raised about its long-term safety.
Dr Sayan Kar from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, said: “What if instead of pumping the carbon dioxide underground, we made something useful from it?
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Prof Reisner and Dr Kar want to produce more sustainable fuels (Image: University of Cambridge)
“CO2 is a harmful greenhouse gas, but it can also be turned into useful chemicals without contributing to global warming.”
The research group, led by Professor Erwin Reisner, develops devices that convert waster, water and air into practical fuels and chemicals.
It takes inspiration from photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into food. The team’s latest invention uses specialised filters to draw CO2 from the air at night, like a sponge soaking up water.
Sunlight then heats the captured CO2, absorbing infrared radiation, and a semiconductor powder absorbs the ultraviolet radiation to start a chemical reaction that converts the captured CO2 into solar syngas.
Syngas is a key intermediate in the production of many chemicals and pharmaceutical, and can be converted into fuel.
Prof Reisner and colleagues are now working on converting the solar syngas into liquid fuels, which could be used to power cars, planes and more. But they must find a way to achieve this without adding more CO2 to the atmosphere.
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Dr Kar added: “If we made these devices at scale, they could solve two problems at once: removing CO2 from the atmosphere and creating a clean alternative to fossil fuels. CO2 is seen as a harmful waste product, but it is also an opportunity.”
Prof Reisner added: “Instead of continuing to dig up and burn fossil fuels to produce the products we have come to rely on, we can get all the CO2 we need directly from the air and reuse it.
“We can build a circular, sustainable economy – if we have the political will to do it.”
The academics’ work was supported by UK Research and Innovation, the European Research Council, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Cambridge Trust. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Energy.