• Question: Which is the best way to make cheap fuel in terms of money, environment and sustainability?

    Asked by catmad1998 to Andrew on 29 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Andrew Thomas

      Andrew Thomas answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Sunlight is the answer. Enough sunlight falls on the earth in an hour to meet the entire needs of humankind for a year and we just let it bounce back into space (or lie in it and get a tan!). The trick is to be able to capture that sunlight and turn it into something useful like fuel but to do it cheaply.
      I personally think the answer lies in nanoparticles because these can be made by simple chemical reactions. What we are trying to do in the long run is develop nanoparticles which act like leaves and carry out photosynthesis but make fuel instead of sugar.

      Many materials being studied for use in nanomaterials for artificial photosynthesis at the moment contain metals so unless they have a long shelf life and can be recycled they aren’t truly sustainable.

      Solar farms could be placed in the deserts across the world to generate fuels which can then be shipped around just like oil is now. Although the fuels would make CO2 when you use them, the fuel is generated from CO2 using sunlight in the first place so at least that side will help the environment a bit.

Comments

  • Photo: Paige

    Paige commented on :

    Sunlight, wind power… and even catalyzing natural feedstocks, like turning carbon dioxide and water back into fuel like methane using electricity and/or catalysts!

  • Photo: Ash

    Ash commented on :

    I think this is one of the most difficult problems we face. It’s really easy to say wind, solar, nuclear, tide or biofuels, but to actually think about how you do that is really difficult. It’s not just the physical sciences but also economics and politics. Nearly all the modern ways of making fuel use energy intensive or expensive components. To complicate things even more society is really committed to carbon based fuels. I personally think that wind and tidal are a good way to go or solar concentrators. I also think that energy efficacy in devices is important but I think energy conservation is a red herring. If you want to know more about this ask me.