http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=AD465422&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
As now recorded in the West Virginia Coal Association's R&D Blog, as US Air Force 1965 CO2 to Fuel Conversion | Research & Development | News, which details the "Catalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Methane and Water"; the United States Air Force had worked, in the early 1960's, to improve, essentially, the Sabatier technology, wherein Carbon Dioxide is chemically reduced, and made to synthesize, primarily, Methane.
Either water or oxygen, as we read it, depending upon how the balance of the reaction is set up, are generated by the Sabatier reaction as by-products; and, the Air Force, at times, seems to indicate that those by-products are their main targets.
In fact, the Sabatier reactor aboard the International Space Station is, as we've documented, used for the regeneration of oxygen, with the co-produced Methane being ejected overboard; although, again as we've documented, NASA also plans to use Sabatier technology on the planet Mars to synthesize rocket fuel, via Methane synthesis, from the primarily Carbon Dioxide Martian atmosphere.
In any case, with the enclosed link and attached file, we herein report more details concerning the Air Force's development, very nearly half a century ago, of Carbon Dioxide recycling technology.
Comment follows excerpts from:
"Investigation of Catalytic Reactions for CO2 Reduction; Part II
Technical Documentary Report No. FDL-TDR 64-22: April, 1965
Edward Thompson; Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
Abstract: Several base metal and base metal oxide CO2 reduction catalysts were selected for investigation
as Part II of an in-house research program to determine catalytic effectiveness in promoting the reduction of carbon dioxide by hydrogen to methane and water.
The cobalt catalyst proved to be the most effective for promoting the Sabatier or methanization reaction.
A peak conversion efficiency of 64 percent at atmospheric pressure was obtained for this catalyst."
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The report is much more lengthy, of course, but we conclude our excerpts here to emphasize the point:
Without the need for an expensive pressure vessel, our US Air Force knew, in essence, nearly half a century ago, how to convert more than 60% of the Carbon Dioxide it collected from, for example, a Coal Country power plant smoke stack, into Methane.
We submit that such Methane could then be combined with the remaining Carbon Dioxide, in tri-reforming or bi-reforming processes; which, as we've documented for you, have been known to the petroleum industry since the post-WWII era; and, which have lately been further developed by others, including Penn State University and WVU; and, that Methane and that Carbon Dioxide made thereby to synthesize Methanol and other liquid hydrocarbons.
And, although free Hydrogen seems to be needed for the Air Force's Carbon Dioxide recycling process, we have already documented for you, and will document further, that economical processes exist for the generation of Hydrogen; with some of them already in use at conventional petroleum refineries, where they are now employed for the upgrading of heavy crude.
We have all the technology we need for the complete and productive recycling of our Carbon Dioxide in hand.