Image credit: NASA
New reactor uses sunlight to make fuel
Posted on Sunday, 29 November, 2009 | 6 comments
Scientists at Sandia National Labs have come up with a new reactor that sets of a thermo-chemical reaction in order to convert or "reverse-combust" CO2 back in to fuel using nothing but solar energy.
The device, boasting the simple title Counter-Rotating-Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (we'll go with "CR5") sets off a thermo-chemical reaction by exposing an iron-rich composite to concentrated solar heat. The composite sheds an oxygen molecule when heated and gets one back as it cools, and therein lies the eureka.
View: Full article | Source: Popular Science News story suggestion by: MeteoricErod Discuss: View comments (6)
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Recent comments on this story
#2 Posted by DieChecker on 29 November, 2009, 14:01Here's another idea. Why don't we build facilities instead to directly convert sunlight to electricity and then use that electricity to power our homes, cars and other needs. Huh? Already available? Humm... Why waste time developing technology that adds steps and complexity and is way less e...
#3 Posted by questionmark on 29 November, 2009, 14:07Because the problem to solve is not how to generate electricity from the sun's irradiation. That is well known and applicable. The problem is storing this energy to be used at night.
#4 Posted by DieChecker on 30 November, 2009, 15:27So is this supposed to just be a fancy heat storage cell? Seems using electricity to make fuel, like hydrogen and then burning that at night would be the way to go. Or, using orbital laser systems to move energy from the day side of the planet to the night side.
#5 Posted by questionmark on 30 November, 2009, 16:33Ever heard about the problems of people living with the summer sun that does not go down?
#6 Posted by odiesbsc on 30 November, 2009, 18:32I agree, I'm with you. It seems to me that all the brainiacs working on this should be able to come up with an alternate source for power. And maybe they have, and are suppressed, who knows? I think about it quite alot but I don't have the education to come up with an answer. I've com...
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