IMDEA researchers in Spain have developed an extraordinary fuel production method. In summary: It turns water, carbon dioxide and sunlight into aviation kerosene, potentially opening the door to significant reductions in CO2 emissions in an industry with a huge carbon footprint.
While not as dangerous as the “fashion business,” aviation is still responsible for the 2-5% of global emissions. Many companies are developing cleaner alternatives to kerosene (the crude oil derivative that today powers long-haul commercial flights around the world). However, a fuel that makes these flights truly net zero has not yet been developed. Or at least that was the case until IMDEA's announcement.
Net zero long-haul flights
“We are the first to demonstrate the thermochemical process chain from water and CO2 to kerosene in a fully integrated, all-inclusive solar tower system. We have shown that with our solar technology we can produce synthetic kerosene from water and carbon dioxide instead of relying on fossil fuels,” says Professor Aldo steinfeld of the ETH Zurich.
The CO2 released during the combustion of kerosene in a jet engine is equal to that consumed during its production in the solar plant. This makes the fuel carbon neutral. Especially if we use CO2 captured directly from the atmosphere as an ingredient, hopefully in the not too distant future.
Synthetic kerosene and future prospects
In 2017, the team behind this incredible project started working on the solar fuel production plant at the IMDEA Energy Institute in Spain. The research group also tested the concept at the same location. The installation includes 169 reflective panels to track the sun and directs sunlight into a reactor at the top of the tower, resulting in oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions.
What's inside the reactor? A porous material based on cerium oxide causes water and carbon dioxide to be converted into syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide). This mixture is then fed into a gas-liquid converter to become kerosene.
During the nine days of test, the solar reactor worked with a4% energy efficiency. This is the percentage that solar energy has been converted into liquid fuel production. Moving forward, the team hopes to make improvements to the design. The goal is to increase efficiency to more than 15%.
The first results are encouraging: moreover, such a plant can be considered a milestone in the production of sustainable aviation fuels.
