Carbon dioxide is part of the solution to greenhouse gases!
The discovery was made at the test facility of the University of Minnesota during a search to find ways to remove megatons of carbon dioxide from industrial smokestacks.
Two processes have been discovered, both using highly concentrated sunlight as their energy source. Temperatures of 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit are generated using a high-flux solar simulator consisting of seven 6,500-watt light bulbs and mirrors that focus the light into a spot about two inches (5cms) in diameter.
The first process uses naturally occuring carbon dioxide and water as the raw materials. Heat fosters breakdown of carbon dioxide and water to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen, the two components of "synthesis gas" or "syngas."
Syngas can be converted into synthetic hydrocarbons, including petrol, diesel and avgas. Jet fuel is already industrially produced in significant quantities from syngas obtained from coal and natural gas.
The second process involves heat removing the carbon dioxide from calcium carbonate and regenerating the calcium oxide.
Scientists believe that the sunlight-to-synfuels technology could be the basis of "carbon-neutral" energy production, in which CO2 is reused, with the same amount released into the air from burning of fossil fuels removed and put back into synfuels.