Synthetic Fuels

These people claim, “A US start-up has created vodka quite literally from thin air – using solar power to convert carbon from the air and convert it into alcohol. It’s now working with NASA to look at other opportunities for capturing carbon.”

Though this is crap, there is a kernel of truth here worth discussing.  Synthetic fuels, e.g., Doty Windfuels, invoke a set reaction and ultimately use Fischer-Tropsch to synthesize hydrocarbon fuels from point sources of CO2 and hydrogen that comes from electrolyzing water.

These processes are a) highly endothermic, meaning that they require large amounts of energy, and b) require high concentrations of CO2 that are typically found in coal and concrete plants.  I have a feeling that the good people at NASA are keenly aware of this.