Artificial leaves can now directly make liquid fuels:
Powered only by sunlight, a new device converts carbon dioxide and water to liquid fuels that could be directly used in car engines.
The device, presented in the journal Nature Energy, is the latest evolution of an artificial leaf. Researchers have been working for years on such systems that mimic photosynthesis to sustainably produce fuels at low cost. Previous artificial leaves produced simple products like carbon monoxide and hydrogen. But the new one takes an important step forward by making energy-dense ethanol and propanol fuels.
They say that currently it is not very efficient. With photovoltaic cell being mature and with excellent efficiency the artificial leaves have a strong competitor. The advantage the leaves have is on the storage side of things.
The fuel releases CO2 when burned. But because the leaves originally pulled the carbon from the air, the fuel will be carbon neutral. Technically, it will not be a fossil fuel.
This will be interesting to watch.
I love living in the future.
Technically all “fossil” fuels are carbon neutral. You just have to look at the equation over a long enough time span. The carbon sequestered in petroleum was removed from the biosphere and turned into potential fuel a long long time ago.
But it’s still fundamentally the same mechanism as the one being described. It just happens over such a long time frame people can’t see that fact. Making liquid fuel via a photosynthetic process is just us cutting out the middle man. Make it efficient enough and you can solve many of our problems…at least the ones that involve energy.
All Dan said above. And we already have that very process in thermal depolarization.
It’s very basic in that ANY organic material crushed to powder, mixed with 12 parts water. And boiled at 600 degrees at 500 PSI for 30 minutes, renders lite sweet crude and steam.
All that is necessary afterword is standard petroleum fractional distillation into it’s constituent products.
Grass clippings, wheat straw, weeds, logging waste, brush. You name it. All can be turned into useable petroleum products in a matter of minutes.
It’s been going on for at least 20 years or better at the Butterball turkey processing plant in Missouri. Even out of patent now.
They been turning turkey guts into lite sweet crude oil.
Hitler’s Germany used a process of stuffing carbon monoxide and methane together with enough force to reconnect the atoms as CH3OH. Menthol alcohol. To use as a fuel.
There are literally dozens of ways of creating hydrocarbon fuels from their elements. And the only reason you don’t know about them is big oil and big science, coupled with a government educational complex.
Thus, the reason for the wording “Fossil fuel”, Remember oil was made from dinosaurs and is a finite resource? Every word of it is bullshit lies.
And the fact that we already grow the fuel we use tomorrow. Were already carbon neutral. As all chemical equations have to balance right?
Keep in mind I’m a mid-wit construction worker/high school drop out that picked up a chemistry book or two in my off time.
And I know this crap? What excuse the local PHD. in chemistry down at the local university?
We been played for far too long.