We have many times documented for you the fact, that, Carbon Dioxide - - as it arises in only a small way, relative to some all-natural and un-taxable sources of it's emission, such as the Earth's inexorable processes of planetary volcanism, from our economically essential use of Coal in the generation of abundant, affordable, and reliable electric power - - is a valuable raw material resource.
Carbon Dioxide can be reclaimed on a practical basis from whatever medium in which it might be found, even from the atmosphere itself, and, then, it can be used and consumed as the basic raw material in the synthesis of liquid hydrocarbon fuels, in the synthesis of - - quite literally - - anything and everything we now financially enslave our nation - - and mortgage our own grandchildren's economic futures - - to the paragons of democratic virtue comprising the nations of OPEC to keep ourselves supplied with in the here and now.
As seen in our report of:
USDOE 2009 CO2 to Gasoline | Research & Development | News; wherein our United States Department of Energy itself proclaims:
"Carbon dioxide gas (CO2) may be converted into liquid fuels such as, for example, hydrocarbon molecules of between about 5 and about 12 carbon atoms per molecule (e.g., gasoline) through multi-step reactions";
our own United States Government has officially confessed that Carbon Dioxide is just such a valuable raw material resource.
But, confessions like the above are just talk, and, without action, are empty words. Those empty words could be filled with some potency, of course, if our Coal Country press managed to scrape together enough potency themselves to start repeating them openly and publicly.
Irregardless of what our Coal Country press and our United States Government actually find themselves capable of doing, however, other people in other nations of the world are acting on the fact that Carbon Dioxide is a raw material resource which can be efficiently - and on a practical basis - used and consumed in the synthesis of hydrocarbon fuels.
As we documented in our report of:
Sweden Makes Public Report of CO2 to Motor Fuel Recycling | Research & Development | News; concerning the Swedish national newspaper report:
""Iceland As A Green Saudi Arabia'; (Dagens Nyheter; "Today's News"); March 12, 2013; Recently, they shipped the first load to oil company Argos in Holland, for low level blending in gasoline. Vulcanol is just a name for methanol, regular wood spirit. It is the production method which makes this fuel especially interesting. It is made using renewable electricity, water and captured CO2 from the nearby geothermal power plant HS Orka.CRI sees it as a breakthrough for renewable transport fuels which are of non-biological origin. The name Vulcanol refers to the fact that the whole process is driven by geothermal energy, but of course other energy sources could also work well";
the company "CRI", aka "Carbon Recycling International", in Iceland, has already begun to export fuel alcohol Methanol, synthesized from waste gas Carbon Dioxide, to mainland Europe for use as a component of commercially-sold Gasoline.
More about CRI, and their CO2-to-Methanol business can be learned via:
Iceland Recycles Even More CO2 | Research & Development | News; wherein it's confirmed, that:
"Carbon Recycling International (CRI) captures carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and converts carbon dioxide into Renewable Methanol (RM). RM is a clean fuel and can be blended at different levels with gasoline to meet renewable energy directives. The capture of carbon dioxide minimizes emissions from energy intensive industries. It is compatible to the existing energy and fuel infrastructure. RM is a drop-in fuel for existing automobiles and hybrid flexible vehicles and can be purchased at existing gasoline stations. The production of RM is feasible in many locations in the world with geothermal, wind, and solar energy sources. CRI plans to build commercial plants for domestic consumption and for export to other European countries".
If you take the time to examine our prior reports concerning CRI, you will discover that their commercial Carbon Dioxide-to-Methanol industrial facilities are operating processes based on CO2-recycling chemical technology established by the United States of America's Nobel Laureate chemist, George Olah, and colleagues, working at the University of Southern California; one example of which is disclosed in our report of:
Southern California Recycles More CO2 | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"United States Patent 7,608, 743 - Efficient and Selective Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol, Dimethyl Ether and Derived Products; 2009; Inventors: George Olah and Surya Prakash, California; Assignee: The University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Abstract: An efficient and environmentally beneficial method of recycling and producing methanol from varied sources of carbon dioxide including flue gases of fossil fuel burning powerplants, industrial exhaust gases or the atmosphere itself. Converting carbon dioxide by chemical or electrochemical reduction secondary treatment to produce essentially methanol, dimethyl ether and derived products".
However, as we've also seen, for one example in our report of:
California and Iceland CO2 to High Octane Gasoline | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"United States Patent 8,198,338 - Process for Producing Liquid Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Water; 2012; Inventors: Arthur Shulenberger, et. al., Iceland and California; Assignee: CRI (Carbon Recycling International) Ehf, Iceland; Abstract: A process for producing high octane fuel from carbon dioxide and water is disclosed. The feedstock for the production line is industrial carbon dioxide and water, which may be of lower quality. The end product can be high octane gasoline, high cetane diesel or other liquid hydrocarbon mixtures suitable for driving conventional combustion engines or hydrocarbons suitable for further industrial processing or commercial use";
CRI have, like the United States Department of Energy in our above-cited earlier report, gone on to establish technology whereby Carbon Dioxide can as well be used and consumed in the rather direct synthesis, not just of Methanol, but, of Gasoline and Diesel fuels, as well.
Another of CRI's CO2-to-Gasoline technologies was disclosed in our report of:
Iceland, August 2012, CO2 to Gasoline and Diesel | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"United States Patent Application 20120201717 - Process and System for Producing Liquid Fuel from CO2 and Water; 2012; Inventors: Shwetank Singh, et. al., Iceland; Assignee: CRI, Iceland; Abstract: A process and system for producing high octane fuel from carbon dioxide and water is disclosed. The feedstock for the production line is industrial carbon dioxide and water, which may be of lower quality. The end product can be high octane gasoline, high cetane diesel or other liquid hydrocarbon mixtures suitable for driving conventional combustion engines or hydrocarbons suitable for further industrial processing or commercial use".
And, despite the similarity of wording in the Abstract, the process of "US Patent Application 20120201717 - Process and System for Producing Liquid Fuel from CO2 and Water" is different from that of "US Patent 8,198,338 - Process for Producing Liquid Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Water".
The fact that there are actually two such valid and practicable processes for converting Carbon Dioxide, as recovered from whatever handy source, into both Gasoline and Diesel fuel was subsequently confirmed by technical experts in the employ of our United States Government, through their issuance, as excerpted from the initial link in this dispatch, less than one year ago, of:
"United States Patent 8,506,910 - Process and System for Producing Liquid Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Water .
Process and system for producing liquid fuel from carbon dioxide and water - CRI EHF
Date: August 13, 2013
Inventors: Shwetank Singh, Omar Freyr Sigurbjornsson, and, Kim-Chinh Tran, Iceland
Assignee: CRI (Carbon Recycling International) EHF, Iceland
Abstract: A process and system for producing high octane fuel from carbon dioxide and water is disclosed. The feedstock for the production line is industrial carbon dioxide and water, which may be of lower quality. The end product can be high octane gasoline, high cetane diesel or other liquid hydrocarbon mixtures suitable for driving conventional combustion engines or hydrocarbons suitable for further industrial processing or commercial use. Products, such as dimethyl ether or methanol may also be withdrawn from the production line. The process is nearly emission free and reprocesses all hydrocarbons not suitable for liquid fuel to form high octane products. The heat generated by exothermic reactions in the process is fully utilized as is the heat produced in the reprocessing of hydrocarbons not suitable for liquid fuel.
(Again, despite the close similarity in wording, this is a technically different process than that disclosed by the earlier "United States Patent 8,198,338 - Process for Producing Liquid Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Water", the application for which is cited by our subject hereinas precedent art.)
Claims: A system for production of liquid fuel from carbon dioxide and water using electricity, the system comprising:
(a) a purification unit in fluid communication with stack gas units of industrial plants and/or power plants, said purification unit arranged and designed to separate the carbon dioxide from stack gases;
(For one sophisticated example, and discussion, of CO2 capture technology as specified above, see our report of:
USDOE Hires WVU to Capture CO2 for Hydrocarbon Synthesis | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"United States Patent 8,658,561 - Layered Solid Sorbents for Carbon Dioxide Capture; 2014; Inventors: Bingyun Li, et. al., West Virginia and Pennsylvania; Assignee: West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV; Abstract: A solid sorbent for the capture and the transport of carbon dioxide gas is provided having at least one first layer of a positively charged material that is polyethylenimine or poly(allylamine hydrochloride), that captures at least a portion of the gas, and at least one second layer of a negatively charged material that is polystyrenesulfonate or poly(acryclic acid), that transports the gas, wherein the second layer of material is in juxtaposition to, attached to, or crosslinked with the first layer for forming at least one bilayer, and a solid substrate support having a porous surface, wherein one or more of the bilayers is/are deposited on the surface of and/or within the solid substrate. A method of preparing and using the solid sorbent is provided. Government Interests: Certain embodiments of this invention were made with Government support in conjunction with the National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pa., under RES contract number DE-FE0004000 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government may have certain rights in the invention. ... (The) fast CO2 desorption (exhibited by the materials and process of this invention) could make (these) sorbents a good option for CO2 removal from power plants and even the atmosphere".)
(b) an electrolysis unit arranged to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen;
(For one recent, sophisticated and efficient example of the above, one which utilizes both "electrolysis" and thermo-chemical techniques to extract "hydrogen and oxygen" from Water, H2O, see our report of:
USDOE Renewable Energy Extracts Hydrogen from Water | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"United States Patent 8,444,846 - Method and System for Producing Hydrogen Using Sodium Ion Separation Membranes; 2013; Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, Idaho Falls, ID; (USDOE Idaho National Laboratory); Abstract: A method of producing hydrogen from sodium hydroxide and water is disclosed. The method comprises separating sodium from a first aqueous sodium hydroxide stream in a sodium ion separator, feeding the sodium produced in the sodium ion separator to a sodium reactor, reacting the sodium in the sodium reactor with water, and producing a second aqueous sodium hydroxide stream and hydrogen. The method may also comprise reusing the second aqueous sodium hydroxide stream by combining the second aqueous sodium hydroxide stream with the first aqueous sodium hydroxide stream. A system of producing hydrogen is also disclosed. Government Interests/Government Rights: This invention was made under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Alberta Limited and Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE- AC07-051D14517, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government has certain rights in the invention".)
(c) a first mixing unit disposed downstream of and in fluid communication with said purification unit and said electrolysis unit to mix said carbon dioxide and said hydrogen;
(d) a catalytic reactor disposed downstream of and in fluid communication with the said first mixing unit to receive the mixture of said carbon dioxide and said hydrogen and to produce methanol and carbon monoxide and said water;
(e) a second mixing unit disposed downstream of and in fluid communication with the said catalytic reactor, said second mixing unit arranged and designed to accept a portion of said carbon monoxide;
(f) a liquid fuel generation unit disposed downstream of and in fluid communication with said second mixing unit, said liquid fuel generation unit arranged and designed to receive and convert a portion of said carbon monoxide in the presence of a substantially pure hydrogen gas to produce said liquid fuel; and:
(g) an oxidation unit disposed downstream of and in fluid communication with said liquid fuel generation unit, said oxidation unit arranged and designed to oxidize any unaccepted portion of separated hydrocarbon product under conditions producing a combustion product comprising said hydrogen, said carbon monoxide, said carbon dioxide and said water.
The system ... wherein said catalytic reactor further comprises a reverse water gas shift reactor for the formation of said carbon monoxide.
(The above "reverse water gas shift" reaction, or, more simply, "reverse conversion", wherein Hydrogen can be made to react with Carbon Dioxide, to form both the desired Carbon Monoxide and Water, has been known for a very long time. And, as seen in our report of:
France Efficient CO2 to Carbon Monoxide Conversion | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"United States Patent Application 20030113244 - Method for Producing Carbon Monoxide by Reverse Conversion with an Adapted Catalyst; 2003; Assignee: Air Liquide (France); Abstract: The invention concerns a method for producing carbon monoxide by reverse conversion, in gas phase, of carbonic acid gas and gaseous hydrogen while minimising the production of methane. The invention is characterised in that the reaction is carried out at a temperature between 300 and 520 C and under pressure between 10 to 40 bars in the presence of an iron-free catalyst based on zinc oxide and chromium oxide. Said method is preferably carried out continuously and comprises preferably the following steps which consist in: a) preparing a gas mixture rich in carbon dioxide and in hydrogen (and) b) reacting said gas mixture, forming carbon monoxide and water vapour, by passing said mixture through a catalytic bed based on zinc oxide and chromium oxide";
it has been very highly-developed and made quite efficient.)
The system ... wherein said second mixing unit is disposed downstream of said purification unit to receive a direct supply of said carbon dioxide (and) wherein said second mixing unit directly supplies a mixture of said carbon dioxide and said hydrogen to said liquid fuel generation unit for the production of said liquid fuel.
The system ... wherein said liquid fuel generation unit further comprises of series of reactors used for the production of said liquid fuel (and) wherein said liquid fuel generation unit comprises at least one of a methanol reactor, a methanol-to-gasoline reactor, and a Fischer-Tropsch reactor.
(We've made many reports concerning the above "methanol-to-gasoline" and "Fischer-Tropsch" technologies; and, we will likely be making more reports concerning them in the future. For more background or explanation now, see, for just two examples:
ExxonMobil Coal to Methanol to Gasoline | Research & Development | News; and:
Bayer Improves Fischer-Tropsch Hydrocarbon Synthesis | Research & Development | News.)
The system ... wherein said second mixing unit further comprises at least one control valve to feed various amounts of mixture of said carbon monoxide and said hydrogen to said liquid fuel generation unit to produce desired proportions of said liquid fuel.
Background and Field: The present invention is broadly within the field of energy conversion and relates to processes and systems for producing hydrogen by electrolysis of water, processes for reacting hydrogen with carbon dioxide for producing methanol and/or producing syngas and processes for synthetic liquid fuel production.
Current evaluation of the world oil production predicts the production to peak around the year 2010. As the world production capacity is believed to behave like a bell curve the expectations are that we will have diminishing production capacity within a few decades from now. Demand on the other hand rises rapidly and it has become foreseeable that in fairly short time, gasoline production will not meet demand.
It is therefore very important to develop processes that allow utilization of alternative energy sources to provide fuel that can immediately substitute the currently used gasoline and diesel distilled from petroleum oil. Such fuel which is compatible with combustion engines as they are today will render the need for major, time consuming, technical developments and infrastructural changes unnecessary.
Currently, two processes have been used on industrial scale to produce synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuel. One is the SASOL process which is based on classic Fisher-Tropsch chemistry and converts coal to syngas, which is converted to a variety of hydrocarbons via the Fisher-Tropsch synthesis. The other is the Mobil Methanol-to-Gasoline process (MTG) ... .
(Concerning the above mention of "the SASOL (South Africa Synthetic Oil Limited) process", see, for example:
US EPA Recommends Coal Liquefaction as a Clean Alternative | Research & Development | News; concerning the United States Environmental Protection Agency report:
"'Clean Alternative Fuels: Fischer-Tropsch'; US EPA; EPA420-F-00-036; 2002; A Success Story (!) For the past 50 years, Fischer-Tropsch fuels have powered all of South Africa’s vehicles, from buses to trucks to taxicabs. The fuel is primarily supplied by Sasol, a world leader in Fischer-Tropsch technologies. Sasol’s South African facility produces more than 150,000 barrels of high quality fuel from domestic low-grade coal daily. The popular fuel is cost-competitive with crude oil-based petroleum products in South Africa".
Syngas or synthesis gas is a term used for gases of varying composition that are generated in coal gasification (and) some types of waste-to-energy facilities. The name comes from their use in creating synthetic petroleum for use as a fuel or lubricant via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Syngas consists primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen ... .
The Fisher Tropsch process was developed by the German researchers Franz Fisher and Hans Tropsch in the 1920s. It is a well documented process that has been used on industrial scale for production of diesel and other synthetic petroleum products for decades. This process is used by a number of companies today to produce low-sulfur diesel and other petroleum products on large scale. For example, SASOL has implemented this process since 1955 to produce petroleum fuel.
The conversion of methanol to gasoline using the Mobil methanol to gasoline process (MTG) is a viable alternative to the Fisher-Tropsch synthesis when converting syngas to liquid fuel. This (is a) process, where the syngas is first converted to methanol and the methanol is converted in a second step, over dimethyl ether (DME) to high octane gasoline ... .
(It's) an important challenge to develop a process that allows recycling carbon dioxide to a valuable product such as liquid fuel. It is even more beneficial to develop a process to recycle carbon dioxide to a liquid fuel that is equivalent or even superior to the currently used gasoline and diesel, and can substitute these without any need for technical or infrastructural changes.
The present invention seeks to address this problem by a novel combination of several processes for conversion of electrical energy to chemical energy in the form of synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels that can readily replace conventional liquid fuels from natural oil reserves.
Summary and Description: The present invention provides an integrated, nearly emission-free process for conversion of carbon dioxide and water to liquid fuel, such as high octane gasoline or diesel, suitable to drive combustion engines. The process may also be used to produce other hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon mixtures suitable for driving conventional combustion engines or hydrocarbons suitable for further industrial processing or other commercial use. Intermediate products such as methanol or dimethylether may also be generated by the production process of the invention. The overall process comprises in a preferred embodiment the conversion of water and carbon dioxide to C5+hydrocarbons (i.e., with five or more carbon atoms), preferably C5-C10 hydrocarbons. The overall process may also encompass the conversion of water and carbon dioxide to high cetane diesel or other liquid hydrocarbon mixtures suitable for driving conventional diesel combustion engines.
Accordingly, the present invention provides in one aspect a process for production of liquid fuel from carbon dioxide and water using electricity comprising: providing water and electricity and electrolyzing the water into hydrogen and oxygen, providing carbon dioxide and reacting it with the obtained hydrogen to produce methanol and/or carbon monoxide and water, where said methanol can comprise the desired final product or be reacted further to liquid hydrocarbon fuel, or, in the case of carbon monoxide intermediate production, reacting the obtained carbon monoxide with hydrogen in one or more steps to produce liquid fuel, which can be methanol or other liquid fuel such as liquid hydrocarbon fuel.
Thus, in one embodiment, the process comprises: providing water and electricity and electrolyzing the water into hydrogen and oxygen; providing carbon dioxide and reacting it with the obtained hydrogen to produce carbon monoxide and water; and reacting the obtained carbon monoxide and hydrogen in one or more steps to produce methanol or liquid hydrocarbon fuel without intermediate methanol production, where said methanol can optionally be processed further to liquid hydrocarbon fuel.
Said carbon monoxide may be mixed with carbon dioxide for the further reactions to obtain liquid fuels.
Another aspect of the invention provides a process for production of liquid fuel from carbon dioxide and water using electricity, comprising: providing water and electricity and electrolyzing the water into hydrogen and oxygen, and providing carbon dioxide and reacting with the obtained hydrogen to produce in a one step process liquid fuel.
Electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen and oxygen has been applied for a number of years on industrial scale and electrolytic hydrogen production systems are commercially available from a number of sources. Where water and electricity are available hydrogen production may, therefore, easily be installed. Hydrogen has been suggested as a future energy carrier replacing gasoline and diesel for fueling vehicles and ships, at least in locations where renewable energy is abundant in order to produce hydrogen by electrolysis ... .
Electricity is an energy form that may be produced from alternative and renewable energy sources such as geothermal sources, solar power, wind energy, hydro-power, and ocean thermal- or kinematic-power.
Electricity may also be made available through efficient utilization of off-peak power.
Carbon dioxide is generated in vast quantities in industrial processes such as aluminum smelting, ammonia production, cement production, iron smelting, ferro-alloy production, steel production, lime production, glass production and more ... . Carbon dioxide is also released in considerable quantities from geothermal power plants. Carbon dioxide is therefore available in close to unlimited quantities.
Current technologies to capture carbon dioxide from gas streams on a large scale are ... commercially available and are operated in a variety of industrial processes.
Depending on reaction conditions and catalyst selectivity, methanol can either be produced directly from CO2 and H2 or via CO which is formed in the competing reverse water gas shift reaction.
The reverse water gas shift reaction has been shown to be a feasible method to convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide with close to 100% equilibrium conversion. This opens up the possibility to produce high quality syngas of any desirable composition from hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
From methanol, high octane gasoline may be produced over the dimethyl ether as intermediate. Likewise, high octane gasoline may also be produced from syngas via the intermediates methanol and dimethyl ether. High cetane diesel and other hydrocarbons may also be produced directly from syngas using the Fisher-Tropsch process or from methanol as the primary feed.
Accordingly, it is highly advantageous to combine these processes in an efficient way to produce sulfur-free, high octane gasoline or high cetane diesel which can immediately replace the currently used gasoline and diesel distilled from petroleum oil without time-consuming technical developments and major infrastructural changes.
The overall process of the invention can be generally described as a process for producing liquid fuel and other hydrocarbon mixtures from carbon dioxide and water. The feedstock for the production is electricity, industrial carbon dioxide and water. The end product can be high octane gasoline, diesel or other liquid hydrocarbon mixtures suitable for driving conventional combustion engines. The end product can also comprise other hydrocarbons for further industrial processing or commercial use, and the end product may additionally or alternatively comprise dimethyl ether or methanol.
(Keep in mind, although we won't clutter this report up any further with additional reference links, that, in addition to Gasoline and Diesel, we can also obtain Methanol and Dimethyl Ether, all as made from Carbon Dioxide, from this process. Both Methanol and Dimethyl Ether, DME, are admirable fuels with properties that make them valuable in some specific applications. In some cases, for example, DME can serve as a nearly-direct substitute for LPG. Methanol can serve as a raw material in the synthesis of some polymers/plastics, wherein the Carbon Dioxide consumed in the synthesis of the Methanol would remain, permanently and productively, "sequestered".)
The overall process preferably comprises: electrolytic production of hydrogen from water; mixing of hydrogen to any desirable ratio with CO2 to optimize the conversion of CO2 to CO via the RWGS reaction, or to any ratio desirable to optimize methanol yield from a combined RWGS-reaction with methanol synthesis or to any ratio desirable to optimize direct methanol production from CO2 and hydrogen; mixing of hydrogen to any desirable ratio with CO to produce syngas of optimal composition for any particular desired purpose, such as for the conversion of premixed synthesis gas to methanol, dimethyl ether or the direct conversion of the syngas to hydrocarbon products; synthesis of methanol directly from carbon dioxide and hydrogen or alternatively from the produced syngas; conversion of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME); conversion of DME to high octane gasoline; synthesis of high octane gasoline may also proceed directly from crude methanol; synthesis of high cetane diesel or other hydrocarbon mixtures may also proceed directly from the produced syngas; synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) may also proceed directly from the produced syngas.
When hydrocarbon products such as high cetane diesel are produced, the premixed syngas (comprising the electrolytically produced hydrogen, CO2 and the CO from the RWGS reaction of CO2) is subjected directly to a Fisher-Tropsch synthesis. The syngas mixture can be optimized to maximize desired products yield".
----------------------
That's about it. Since they do note the "synthesis of methanol directly from carbon dioxide and hydrogen", without the intermediate "RWGS-reaction", or reverse conversion, to first convert the CO2 and H2 into a blend of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen, we refer you to our report of:
The University of Oxford Converts CO2 into Methanol | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"Process For Producing Methanol; Publication No: WO/2011/045605; International Application No: PCT/GB2010/051733; International Filing Date: October 14, 2010; Applicants: Isis Innovation Limited, Great Britain (Isis Innovation Ltd is a British technology transfer company, wholly owned by the University of Oxford);
Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel process for the production of methanol. The process comprises the heterolytic cleavage of hydrogen by a frustrated Lewis pair comprising a Lewis acid and a Lewis base; and the hydrogenation of CO2 with the heterolytically cleaved hydrogen to form methanol";
wherein one example of such direct CO2-to-Methanol technology is disclosed.
Elemental, molecular Hydrogen is required by the process of our subject herein, "US Patent 8,506,910 - Process and System for Producing Liquid Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Water", in order to make such seemingly-desirable stuff as Gasoline, Diesel fuel, Methanol and Dimethyl Ether out of Carbon Dioxide.
And, in addition to our earlier reference, as seen for one further example in:
USDOE and California Solar Hydrogen for CO2-to-Fuel Conversion | Research & Development | News; concerning:
"United States Patent Application 20130092549 - Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Using Water Vapor as a Feedstock; 2013; Assignee: California Institute of Technology; Abstract: A light-driven electrolytic cell that uses water vapor as the feedstock and that has no wires or connections whatsoever to an external electrical power source of any kind. In one embodiment, the electrolytic cell uses a proton exchange membrane (PEM) with an IrRuOx water oxidation catalyst and a Pt black water reduction catalyst to consume water vapor and generate molecular oxygen and a chemical fuel, molecular hydrogen. Government Interests: This invention was made with government support under DE-SC0004993/T-105066 awarded by the Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in the invention. The illumination-driven apparatus ... further comprising a first inlet port configured to permit the introduction of water vapor into said apparatus and a first outlet port configured to allow molecular oxygen to exit said apparatus (and) wherein said chemical fuel is (Hydrogen) H2 (and) wherein said illumination ... is terrestrial solar illumination";
we're getting pretty cagey in the ways by which we can harness various forms of freely-available environmental energy in order to extract the needed elemental Hydrogen from the abundant Water, H2O, molecule, with the understanding that the H2O consumed would be returned to the water cycle when the hydrocarbon fuel synthesized from the Hydrogen and the Carbon Dioxide was combusted.
In any case, less than one year ago, technical experts in the employ of our United States Government, through their allowance and grant of our subject herein, "United States Patent 8,506,910 - Process and System for Producing Liquid Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Water", confirmed that Carbon Dioxide and Water could be used as the only raw materials needed in a direct process that synthesizes Gasoline and Diesel fuels, and, if wanted/needed, in addition, fuel alcohol Methanol and Dimethyl Ether.
The United States Government officially confirmed that Carbon Dioxide - - the CO2 in our Coal Country "stack gases", for example - - can be efficiently and directly converted into Gasoline.
Far past time that same United States Government - - instead of trying to kill off our economically-essential generation of abundant and affordable electricity in Coal-fired power plants, and instead of sending more of our young citizens off to fight and die in yet more OPEC region wars - - got around to publicly informing all United States citizens, especially those United States citizens resident in United States Coal Country, of that fact, ain't it?