A unique invention by Sandia National Laboratories’ researcher Rich Diver is here to revolutionize the transportation industry forever. The innovation is a prototype of a machine that uses sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide waste from power plants into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Dubbed as the ‘Counter-Rotating-Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (CR5), could provide an alternative to carbon sequestration.
Two chambers on the sides and 14 rotating rings in the center make up Diver’s cylindrical machine. The outer edges of the rings are made from iron oxide. The machine works by using a solar concentrator to heat the inner portion of one chamber to 1,500C. Due to the heat, iron oxide undergoes a thermo-chemical reaction where it gives up oxygen molecules. As the affected side of the ring rotates to the opposite chamber, it begins to cool down and carbon dioxide is pushed in. This cooling allows the iron oxide to retrieve the oxygen molecules back from the CO₂, leaving behind carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide could then serve as a building block to create a liquid combustible fuel.
The CR5 was originally designed to produce hydrogen without using electrolysis, simply by replacing water by carbon dioxide in the second chamber. If the hydrogen produced is mixed with carbon monoxide syngas would be the result. Although, this technology sounds really interesting but we will have to wait for some 15 to 20 years for it to set the market on fire.
Via: Physorg
