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Period
According to Prometheus’ investor materials, the process is divided into four main stages.
In step one, industrial fans draw air and blow it into a mixture of water and other compounds, which McGinnis says may contain sodium carbonate. This then readily reacts with carbon dioxide molecules in the air, shifting most of the carbonate to bicarbonate.
The resulting solution is then transported to a battery-like cell with a membrane in the middle and electrodes at both ends, which uses electricity to ignite a series of chemical reactions that produce complex alcohols. It is equipped with a technology-based catalyst licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. in previous statementThis lab has developed a catalyst made from tiny carbon spikes embedded with copper nanoparticles. When a voltage was applied, it converted carbon dioxide dissolved in water into ethanol “with 63% efficiency”.
Prometheus’ carbon nanotube membranes come into play in step three, separating alcohols from water.
And in a final step, different catalysts are used to combine the alcohols and convert them into synthetic gasoline, diesel or jet fuel. Prometheus in 2020 licensed separate technology From the Oak Ridge lab, which can be used to produce jet fuel from ethanol, through a multi-step process based on a new but unspecified catalyst.
The overall process is significantly different from that taken by other companies that convert captured carbon into fuels. As McGinnis explains Joule interpretation, Prometheus systems can operate at standard atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The technology also avoids the heat energy required to produce concentrated carbon dioxide, as well as the capital costs of an electrolyzer dedicated to producing hydrogen. Instead, the company claims it can synthesize alcohols directly from water-soluble carbon dioxide and then convert them into standard fuels.
If they actually figured out how to do it, “it could lead to significant energy and cost savings,” says Evan David Sherwin, postdoctoral researcher at Stanford who prepared the Environmental Science and Technology study.
One of the last slides in the investor materials shows a Prometheus-branded gas station; A red neon “Zero Net Carbon” sign above it indicates gasoline prices are $3.50 per gallon and diesel is $3.75, well below current price. average US prices.
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