USDOE Calls for CO2 Recycling Revolution

http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2007/078012.pdf

Herein, a United States Department of Energy scientist urges us to "adopt revolutionary thinking about energy and fuels", asserting that, if we do, then, "it may be possible to the meet the future fuel challenges while maintaining our traditional hydrocarbon fuel framework".

Further, he says that we "must recognize that hydrocarbon fuels are energy carriers, not energy sources. The energy stored in a hydrocarbon is released for utilization by oxidation to form CO2 and H2O. Furthermore, just as H2O can be 'reenergized' by applying energy to split water back into H2 and O2, hydrocarbons can be recycled by capturing CO2 (and H2O) and 're-energizing' them back into hydrocarbon form".

And, he goes on to emphasize, that "there is a hydrocarbon analogy to the envisioned hydrogen economy that realizes the benefits of hydrogen while capitalizing on much of the existing liquid fuel infrastructure".

Pittsburgh Improves Coal Liquefaction with Coal-derived Liquids

Energy Citations Database (ECD) - - Document #7150506

 

We confess that this submission, originating from Pittsburgh's USDOE Coal research center, takes a lot of study to glean much useful from it - at least to our less-than-able eyes.

Several points can be gotten, however, and this effort might relate to additional Coal conversion work that was done at another USDOE lab, in New Mexico, about which we will report in coming days.

We attempt summary following excerpts from the initial and following links to:

USDOE in California Recycles CO2

http://www.prog-univers.com/IMG/pdf/sdarticle.pdf

 

This interesting bit of Carbon Dioxide recycling technology comes to us from the USDOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, managed for the DOE by the University of California at Berkeley.

It relates conceptually to other CO2-recycling processes we have documented for you, as in one of our more recent reports, accessible via:

Penn State Recycles via Artificial Photosynthesis | Research & Development | News; "High-Rate Solar Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 and Water Vapor to Hydrocarbon Fuels; PSU, 2008";

and, as will be seen in a report to follow, another similar originating in West Virginia.

US-Funded Canadian Syncrude at $25 per Barrel

Energy Citations Database (ECD) - - Document #10102094

 

Similar in some respects to a report we recently sent you, wherein USDOE centers in Morgantown, WV, and Pittsburgh, PA, supported research by a New Jersey company, which was intended to improve the liquefaction of Coal from China, we see herein that a similar arrangement had been made relative to Canada.

And, the results were quite interesting.

In 1994, Canada was able to make synthetic crude oil, from Coal, for less than $30 per barrel.

Israel Photo-Recycles CO2

Energy Citations Database (ECD) - - Document #6974388

 

In light of both some of our previous submissions concerning the potentials for harnessing environmental energy to recycle atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, and some similar reports, from closer to home, to follow, we see herein, again, that Carbon Dioxide can be reclaimed and converted, using solar energy, into "formate".

We've addressed the unsung virtues of such CO2-derived "formate" previously, including the potentials for it's use in fuel cells.

However, we have also previously documented that formate can have some other, perhaps more intriguing, potentials, as well. And, via another link and an attached file, we emphasize what those potentials are,  following excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to: