Carbon Neutrality

The engineers from ETH Zurich showed the technology of carbon neutrality, they extracted CO₂ and water from the atmosphere, then used solar energy to yield synthesis gas, and then processed into fuel. The whole process is similar with photosynthesis, but the difference is that the product of photosynthesis is glucose and oxygen.

New Atlas reported that Carbon Capture and Storage is the key issue of COP26 which held in Glasgow, aim to decrease carbon emissions. Therefore, countries over the world are thinking about the new generation of motorized machinery transformation. From gasoline engine to electric vehicle, hydrogen energy, fuel cell, and new technologies. But the range of this revolution is quite wide, the existing infrastructure will be changed, and thus increased the difficulty.

Meanwhile, synthetic fuel might be a good compromise. The carbon that exists in atmosphere is used as the material to process into synthetic fuel which uses chemical method, thus it won’t cause carbon accumulation.

The invention from ETH Zurich can be divided into three units: The first is an air capture unit, which sucks in air from the environment and uses adsorption to separate carbon dioxide and water, which is then transported to the second unit, where solar energy is used trigger a chemical reaction.

The second unit needs high heat, and the heat source comes from the solar energy. The parabolic concentrator can focus the sunlight on the focal point, reaching a high temperature to 1500 degrees. Inside the reactor is a ceramic structure made of cerium dioxide (CeO2). It converts carbon dioxide and water into a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which is syngas.

Author Professor Wei-Keng Lin Education｜Ph.D., University of Maryland Occupation｜Professor, National Tsing Hua University  Specialty｜Electronic package heat dissipation, Heat pipe, Loop heat pipes(CPL，LHP，PHP), Energy-saving design, Solar heat storage and cooling, Heat flow system, Cooling of electronic components, Two-phase flow, Heat transfer elements of artificial satellite and high-altitude flying object