The inventor named in this United States Patent, which documents a way in which environmental energy can be harnessed to convert Carbon Dioxide, from any source, into the liquid fuel, Methanol, is a scientist we have cited previously, as documented in the West Virginia Coal Association R&D Blog, with respect to his work with colleagues in Switzerland and Israel, wherein processes were refined, similar to the one disclosed herein, that enable the conversion of Carbon Dioxide, in various "bi-reforming" or "tri-reforming" reactions with Water and/or Methane, into valuable higher hydrocarbons.
The invention he discloses herein is very similar to other technologies we have recorded as being under development by scientists, such as Rich Diver, at the USDOE's Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, one actually named "Green Freedom", wherein sunlight, specifically, is used to power what might be described as an "artificial photosynthesis" process, a reaction sequence driven by light energy that consumes Carbon Dioxide in the production of various hydrocarbons.
This US Patent might well represent an earlier exposition of such technologies, as we see, with some explanatory comment appended, in excerpts from:
"United States Patent 4,219,392 - Photosynthetic Process
Date: August, 1980
Inventor: Martin Halmann, IL
Assignee: Yeda Research and Development Company, IL
Abstract: A process for the conversion of carbon dioxide or the bicarbonate ion into useful organic compounds, such as formic acid, formaldehyde and methanol, which comprises carrying out the reduction in a photoelectrochemical cell, wherein the cathode is a p-type semiconductor, and at least part of the energy of reduction is supplied by light, including sunlight.
Claims: A process for converting carbon dioxide or bicarbonate ion by reduction to organic compounds selected from alcohols, aldehydes and carboxylic acids of 1 to 2 C atoms, which comprises carrying out the reduction in a photoelectrochemical cell wherein the cathode is a p-type semiconductor, at least part of the energy of reduction being supplied by light (and) wherein the light is sunlight (and) wherein the organic compounds produced are methanol, formaldehyde and formic acid.
A process ... wherein the reaction takes place on particles of the titanium dioxide in contact with carbon dioxide and water.
The present invention relates to a novel process for the conversion of carbon dioxide or the bicarbonate ion in solution into organic compounds under the influence of irradiation, such as sunlight. More particularly, the invention relates to such a process wherein carbon dioxide or the bicarbonate ion are reduced to formic acid, formaldehyde and methanol in a photoelectrochemical cell, wherein at least part of the required energy is supplied by light energy, and particularly by solar radiation."
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Do not be confused by reference to the use of "the bicarbonate ion".
We could obtain bicarbonate ions aplenty in the effluent from power plant smokestack scrubbers utilizing water and/or various water solutions of alkali metals to chemically capture effluent Carbon Dioxide.
That is, in point of fact, little more than high school chemistry.
The concept of "photosynthesis" is high school biology.
And, like high school dropouts, all those of us resident in US Coal Country, with our potential Carbon Dioxide riches, might be condemning ourselves to lifetimes of impoverishment and servitude if we don't get our butts back to school, and learn what the wealthy, well-educated proponents of Carbon Dioxide petroleum reservoir sequestration already know, which is:
Carbon Dioxide, as arises in a small way, relative to natural sources of emission, such as volcanoes, from our varied and productive uses of Coal, is a valuable raw material resource.
In efficient processes, utilizing environmental sources of energy, we can harvest it and transform it into commercially valuable products.
One of those products is Methanol, which, we remind you, can, via ExxonMobil's "MTG"(r) technology, be efficiently converted into Gasoline.