this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2023
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Engineers develop an efficient process to make fuel from carbon dioxide::An efficient new process can convert carbon dioxide into formate, a material that can be used like hydrogen or methanol to power a fuel cell and generate electricity.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago

Very misleading title. This is not an energy efficient process (what we need for energy storage), instead it has a high chemical yield.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You know what other methods converts carbon dioxide into energy? Planting potatoes!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That, and planting trees and never cutting them down. Although at least with potatoes you can make french fries.. french wood sticks definitely aren't so great in the air fryer

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

no, you can actually cut down grown biomass and process it to chemically stable biochar for soil improvement! for more potatoes for more fries! and a side of coleslaw.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And alcohol. Which is also a fuel.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It very much fuels my alcoholism!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I know it fuels mine!

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When they say it's efficient, they mean at not letting CO2 go, not in energy cost. Looks like step one is capturing it which is already energy intensive, and step 2 is reacting it with a strong base. So it takes a lot of stuff as input.

And they did this on a lab bench, not at scale in a plant.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

This and fusion, neck and neck.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Burning it creates enormous clouds of Trioxin 2-4-5.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Does trioxin perchance give one superpowers?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

You have lymphoma.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

You'll be able to feel yourself rot.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That it burns the shit back into the atmosphere.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, but if it could provide as an alternative to digging up oil and gass, and get the energy needed to make the transformation from sun, wind or other sustainable sources. It could lower the amount of new CO2 being put into the atmosphere as well as work as a way to store excess energy from wind and sun.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah, it would basically act as a battery except much better energy and power density, and faster 'charging'.

The downside is invariably that round trip energy efficiency (electricity in vs electricity out) is somewhere between 'much worse' and 'terrible'.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

Guys, stop trying to break thermodynamics. You can't. You know this.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

So we're gonna spend a whole bunch of energy to capture carbon, then use even more to turn it into fuel, and then just burn it again? Yea sorry, I am not convinced.

Edit: Unless if course they propose it for grid balancing, like we talk about doing with hydrogen. In that case, I wanna know exact energy efficiency numbers and equipment cost.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Carbon neutral fuel is a good thing.