CO2 to ethanol nanotechnology catalyst

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LTLFTcomposite

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https://www.ornl.gov/news/nano-spike-catalysts-convert-carbon-dioxide-directly-ethanol

“We’re taking carbon dioxide, a waste product of combustion, and we’re pushing that combustion reaction backwards with very high selectivity to a useful fuel,” Rondinone said. “Ethanol was a surprise -- it’s extremely difficult to go straight from carbon dioxide to ethanol with a single catalyst.”
 
Doesn't mention anything about the efficiency of this process, which is going to be crucial in a future world not awash in fossil fuels.
 
If this ever becomes a practical application, the best use for ethanol produced would obviously be in freeing BEVs from having to carry large battery packs, just to make long trips between refueling stops:

edatoakrun said:
Nissan to develop vehicle using ethanol-based Solid Oxide Fuel-Cell technology by 2020

Avoiding the insurmountable (?) obstacle of developing hydrogen infrastructure by using alternate fuels has been proposed by many Fuel Cell advocates, but Nissan may be the first vehicle manufacturer to offer a practical alternative.

IMO, Nissan would be wise to utilize this technology primarily as a range extender for its BEVx vehicles of all sizes.

Electricity from the grid off-peak will always be much cheaper (and in terms of total environmental impact, usually "cleaner") that ethanol or any other hydrocarbon fuel.

Nissan to develop ethanol-based fuel cell technology by 2020

...Nissan said its technology would be ready for use in vehicles in 2020, adding it could be used to extend the range of larger, electric vehicles such as delivery vans.

It would target a cruising range of around 800 kilometers per fuelling, more than the range for gasoline-powered vehicles of just over 600 kilometers.

The automaker said running costs for the FCVs would be roughly similar to those of electric vehicles, while declining to give details on vehicle pricing...

Unlike its rivals' offerings, Nissan's technology does not require hydrogen to be stored in vehicles, reducing the need for expensive bulky hydrogen tanks, and would not require fuelling stations, which have been slow to spread globally...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-nissan-fuelcells-idUSKCN0Z01BG
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=22107#p463232
 
Another use would be for heating BEVs (and their battery packs) in extreme cold conditions. IIRC Volvo was doing that in some EV they were developing.

Burning stuff isn't so bad when the goal is to produce heat, it's when you're trying to produce mechanical energy that it becomes stupid inefficient.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Another use would be for heating BEVs (and their battery packs) in extreme cold conditions. IIRC Volvo was doing that in some EV they were developing.

Burning stuff isn't so bad when the goal is to produce heat, it's when you're trying to produce mechanical energy that it becomes stupid inefficient.

Correct.

At COP 1.0 (efficiency only 100%) EV-s without heat pump are technically wasting a lot of energy on heat.
Therefore adding fuel heater to iMiEV is very acceptable idea. Especially on normal grid that has only 10-40% renewable energy.

At the same time using heat pump will beat liquid fuel at most occasions. I would say down to -10*C 14F.
 
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