ETH Zurich researchers have developed a solar tower in Spain capable of making carbon-neutral jet fuel from water, carbon dioxide and sunlight. How does it work? The tower concentrates solar thermal energy over 169 sun-tracking reflector panels, each with three square meters of surface area. These panels redirect sunlight into a 16-cm hole in the solar reactor atop the 49-foot central tower.
This reactor receives approximately 2,500 suns’ worth of energy (50 kW of solar thermal power) and the heat generated is used to drive a two-step thermochemical redox cycle. Water and pure carbon dioxide are then fed in to a ceria-based redox reaction, which is convereted simultaneously into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The mixture, also called syngas, is fed to a Gas-to-Liquid (GtL) unit at the bottom of the tower, which produces a liquid phase containing 16% kerosene and 40% diesel, along with a a wax phase consisting of 7% kerosene and 40% diesel. Personally, we prefer to visit Top Tower, a skyscraper designed to look like a shipwreck.
- Solar power bank portable charger uses strong professional ABS material, Chemical resistant, heat-resistant, and has super surface hardness, high...
- Portable charger is compatible with all USB devices such as smartphones and tablets.
- Solar charger power bank has a large battery capacity of 42800mAh, and uses high-density batteries to load a larger capacity without changing the...
We are the first to demonstrate the entire thermochemical process chain from water and CO2 to kerosene in a fully-integrated solar tower system. This solar tower fuel plant was operated with a setup relevant to industrial implementation, setting a technological milestone towards the production of sustainable aviation fuels,” said Aldo Steinfeld, ETH Professor and corresponding author of the research paper.
