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* #270639 (no title) * #270646 (no title) * #270647 (no title) * #270651 (no title) * #275264 (no title) * #213858 (no title) * #278742 (no title) * #215263 (no title) * #200420 (no title) * #215290 (no title) * 70%, 80%, 99.9%, 100% Renewables — Study Central * About Wind Energy / Why Wind Energy * Advertise with CleanTechnica * Advertising * Aftermarket Tesla Accessories * Authors * Branded Series * Calendar * Clean Energy * Clean tech and sustainability market research * Cleantech Billionaires * Cleantech Glossary * Cleantech Jobs * Submit a Resumé * CleanTech Talk * CleanTechnica Comment Policy * CleanTechnica Editorial Ethics * CleanTechnica Newsletters * CleanTechnica’s Shop! * Climate Change Solutions: Why 1.5°C Is So Important * Community Solar Power Guide * Contact CleanTechnica * Contract * Electric Vehicle Charging * Electric Vehicle Sales Charts, Graphs, & Stats * Energy Storage * Engage Global Competition: Technology for a Sustainable Future * General Inquiries * Get Your Cleantech Event Featured! * Home Efficiency * How Do You Charge An Electric Car At Home? * How To Charge An Electric Vehicle — 101 * How To Improve Storage In A Tesla * Invest in CleanTechnica * Letters to tomorrow * Manage Job Listings * MASSIVE Electric Bike Buyer’s Guide — All the Biggest Brands & Models * Microgrids Explained * Mission and Vision * Native Content Guidelines * NIO ES8 — The Chinese Electric SUV Outselling The Tesla Model X * Nukes, Renewables, and the Union of Concerned Scientists * Our Team * Press Release Publication * Privacy Policy * Reality Check — Correcting the Cleantech Record * REGISTRATION TESTER * Renewable Energy Sources * Resources For Solar Installers * Solar Energy * Solar Energy Resources * Solar Panel Installers — Top Solar Panel Installers & How To Evaluate Them * Solar Power * Sponsor CleanTechnica * Stay Connected With CleanTechnica * Style Guide — Draft * Support CleanTechnica * Sustainable Business Virtual Trade Show * Switching to an Electric Fleet – Learn About Charging, Payments, & More * Syndicate Our Content * Terms of Use * Tesla Insurance * Tesla Myths & FAQ * Test * Top Clean Energy Resources * Trusted Partners * Upcoming CleanTech Events * Use of CleanTechnica Content * Vanadium Flow Batteries Demystified * Wind Energy * Wind Energy Facts * Wind Energy Resources * World’s Top Cleantech Site * Xpeng G3 * Xpeng P7 Connect with us * * * Hi, what are you looking for? 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Part 3 * Tesla FSD Beta 10.69.2.4 — Latest Improvements & Nagging Faults * Bolt EUV Month 2, Part 4: A Challenging Rural Road * Bolt EUV Month 2, Part 3: The Yee-Hawtobaun * CleanTechnica Videos * 2022 CleanTechnica Car of the Year — Writers Discuss Finalists * Watch Tesla Conference Call Live Today — With Charts, Analyst Quotes, Transcribed Questions * Fisker Ocean — CleanTechnica Walkthrough Video * The Aptera Gamma — CleanTechnica Video Walkthrough * ElectraMeccanica Solo — CleanTechnica Review * CleanTechnica.TV (YouTube) * Cleantech Talk (Our Podcast) * Series Pages * EV Charging * EV Fleet Charging * How to Charge An EV At Home * Fast Home EV Charging * Aftermarket Tesla Accessories * Home Efficiency * Microgrids * Vanadium Flow Batteries Demystified * About * Connect With CleanTechnica * Become a Subscriber * Support CleanTechnica * Contact Us * Advertise * Our Team * Editorial Ethics * Mission & Vision * Invest * Privacy Policy * RSS * Syndicate Our Content This "solar tower" deploys solar energy to convert water and carbon dioxide to produce non-fossil kerosene for jet fuel (photo courtesy of ETH Zurich). AVIATION SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL FROM SOLAR ENERGY: NOT A DREAM ANY MORE This “solar tower” deploys solar energy to convert water and carbon dioxide to produce non-fossil kerosene for sustainable jet fuel. By Tina Casey Published July 20, 2022 30 Comments The search for sustainable aviation fuel was once dominated by biofuel stakeholders, but the aviation industry could take off in a new direction that skips the plant-based middleperson in favor of a straight line from solar energy to liquid kerosene. In the latest development on that score, the Swiss institution ETH Zurich has just unveiled a new pilot-scale, all-in-one, solar powered process for converting water and carbon dioxide straight into into jet fuel. THE GREEN HYDROGEN ANGLE ON LIQUID FUEL FROM SOLAR ENERGY If you guessed green hydrogen is somewhere in the mix, that would be correct. ETH Zurich (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich), describes its pilot project as a thermochemical process that deploys solar energy in a single, integrated chain that goes from hydrogen gas, oxygen and carbon dioxide to liquid kerosene fuel in a “solar tower.” “We evaluate the performance of the solar reactor − the cornerstone technology − based on five primary metrics (namely: reaction selectivity, syngas quality, fuel purity, energy efficiency, and material stability) and experimentally validate its stable operation and full integration in the solar tower fuel plant,” ETH explains. They list the following highlights of the project: 1. Entire process chain from H2 O and CO2 to solar kerosene realized in a solar tower 2. 50-kW solar reactor demonstrated for ceria-based thermochemical redox splitting 3. Consecutive redox cycling produced syngas suitable for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis 4. 4.1% solar-to-syngas energy efficiency achieved without implementing heat recovery CleanTechnica got advance word on the results of the demonstration under embargo, which will be lifted by the time you read this. The details should be available in the journal Joule at DOI 10.1016/j.joule.2022.06.012. A press release may also be forthcoming from the ETH media office, and in the meantime you can find more info elsewhere on the ETH website regarding their solar energy to fuel research. SOLAR ENERGY TO LIQUID FUEL, NOT A DREAM If all this sounds like it popped up out of nowhere, that’s probably because biofuels have dominated most of the attention in the sustainable aviation fuels area. CleanTechnica has covered many different angles in the biofuel area including bio-waste products, algae, seaweed, and waste paper, among others. Meanwhile, activity in the electrofuel area has been stirring. Wind power can get the e-fuel job done on the green hydrogen side, but the ETH project demonstrates how solar energy can come into play, too. There being no such thing as a free lunch, the road to commercial-scale solar fuel has been a long one. The research goes back to at least 2011, under the Solar-Jet project that concluded in 2015. In 2014, our friends over at Chemistry World took note of the obstacles encountered by the Solar-Jet project, further noting that three years of work had resulted in a single glass of kerosene. “Unfortunately, the idea has suffered from two problems. One is that the dissociation of carbon dioxide and water only takes place at very high temperatures, typically above 2200°C. But the other, more difficult, problem is that the syngas cannot be tackled by the Fischer–Tropsch process until all the oxygen is removed as it is dangerously explosive,” they wrote, while observing that the concentrating solar pathway would resolve the first problem. ETH seems to have taken the ball and run with it. The institute went on to participate in the EU/Swiss “Sun-to-Liquid” project, which validated the core solar technology along with the integrated chemical plant in 2019. For the validation process, the Sun- to-Liquid project constructed a concentrating solar power plant at the IMDEA Energy Institute in Spain. The power plant was designed to concentrate sunlight by a factor of 2,500. That is triple the level of typical concentrating systems. “This intense solar flux, verified by the flux measurement system developed by project partner DLR, allows to reach reaction temperatures of more than 1,500°C within the solar reactor positioned at the top of the tower,” the project website explained. “The solar reactor, developed by project partner ETH Zurich, produces synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, from water and CO2 via a thermochemical redox cycle,” they added. “An on- site gas- to-liquid plant that was developed by the project partner HyGear processes this gas to kerosene.” NEXT STEPS FOR SOLAR ENERGY TO LIQUID FUEL The Sun-to-Liquid project was scheduled to conclude at the end of 2019, and it seems that ETH has not let the grass grow under its feet since then. Last fall, the institute published a paper in the journal Nature that describes the operation of a rooftop mini “solar refinery.” “Analyses of the entire process show that the fuel would cost 1.20 to 2 euros per litre if it were produced on an industrial scale,” ETH enthused, pointing out that the technology could be deployed in desert areas with plenty of solar energy resources but little arable land for biofuel crops. SO, WHAT GOOD IS THIS? If all goes according to plan, the advantages of solar energy enabled fuels over conventional biofuel are pretty clear. Even though the biofuel industry is moving away from food-sourced inputs, stakeholders in the area of energy crops still have to contend with land use conflicts at a time when climate change and Russian warmongering have placed new burdens on global food systems. In contrast, the solar-to-fuel model does not have to deal with drought, floods, hail, feral hogs, or other contingencies that can interrupt a crop-based supply chain. The solar tower model also allows for more localization and decentralization. That can help alleviate disruptions in the global shipping and commodities areas. As for how the solar energy model helps prevent catastrophic climate change, it doesn’t. That ship has already sailed. The catastrophic impacts of human-induced climate change are already here. Reducing the risk of further damage is the name of the game, and in that regard every tool in the non-fossil toolkit should be brought to bear on pushing fossil stakeholders out of the energy sector. Unfortunately, over here in the US, the policy making toolkit has been shrinking by the minute, thanks to an unforced ruling by the six Republican-appointed Justices on the Supreme Court, along with uniform opposition to federal action on climate change by all 50 Republican legislators who populate the US Senate, and an assist from a lone Democratic Senator who happens to hold a stake in the coal business (looking at you, Joe Manchin). Democratic President Joe Biden could declare a climate emergency to grease the climate action wheels despite Republican pushback. Apparently that’s not in the works at the present time, but stay tuned for an update. Follow me on Twitter @TinaMCasey. Photo: “Solar tower” model for deploying solar energy to make sustainable aviation fuel from water and carbon dioxide, courtesy of ETH Zurich. Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality and cleantech news coverage? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica Member, Supporter, Technician, or Ambassador — or a patron on Patreon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't want to miss a cleantech story? Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Twitter * LinkedIn * Facebook In this article:e-kerosene, electrofuels, Energy, ETH Zurich, europe, green kerosene, Hydrogen, Renewable Energy, solar fuel, solar fuels, sustainable aviation fuel, Switzerland Written By Tina Casey Tina specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+. Comments Comments #1 most loved electric vehicle, solar energy, and battery news & analysis site in the world. Support our work today! POWER CLEANTECHNICA: $3/MONTH Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers. 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