British engineers produce amazing 'petrol from air' technology Read more at http://facenaija.blogspot.com/2012/10/british-engineers-produce-amazing.html#7wClTiwF3b7pF4BR.99

A small company in the north of England has
developed the "air capture" technology to create
synthetic petrol using only air and electricity.
Experts last night hailed the astonishing
breakthrough as a potential "game-changer" in
the battle against climate change and a saviour
for the world's energy crisis.
The technology, presented to a London
engineering conference this week, removes
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The "petrol
from air" technology involves taking sodium
hydroxide and mixing it with carbon dioxide
before "electrolysing" the sodium carbonate that
it produces to form pure carbon dioxide.
Hydrogen is then produced by electrolysing water
vapour captured with a dehumidifier.
The company, Air Fuel Syndication , then uses
the carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce
methanol which in turn is passed through a
gasoline fuel reactor, creating petrol.
Company officials say they had produced five
litres of petrol in less than three months from a
small refinery in Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside.
The fuel that is produced can be used in any
regular petrol tank and, if renewable energy is
used to provide the electricity it could become
"completely carbon neutral".
The £1.1m project, in development for the past
two years, is being funded by a group of
unnamed philanthropists who believe the
technology could prove to be a lucrative way of
creating renewable energy.
While the technology has the backing of Britain's
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, it has yet to
capture the interest of major oil companies.
But company executives hope to build a large
plant, which could produce more than a tonne of
petrol every day, within two years and a refinery
size operation within the next 15 years.
Tonight Institution of Mechanical Engineers
(IMechE) officials admitted that while the
described the technology as being "too good to be
true but it is true", it could prove to be a "game-
changer" in the battle against climate change.
Stephen Tetlow, the IMechE chief executive,
hailed the breakthrough as "truly
groundbreaking".
"It has the potential to become a great British
success story, which opens up a crucial
opportunity to reduce carbon emissions," he said.
"It also has the potential to reduce our exposure
to an increasingly volatile global energy market.
"The potential to provide a variety of sustainable
fuels for today's vehicles and infrastructure is
especially exciting."
Dr Tim Fox, the organisation's head of energy and
environment, added: "Air capture technology
ultimately has the potential to become a game-
changer in our quest to avoid dangerous climate
change."
Peter Harrison, the company's 58 year-old chief
executive, told The Daily Telegraph that he was
"excited" about the technology's potential, which
"uses renewable energy in a slightly different
way".
"People do find it unusual when I tell them what
we are working on and realise what it means,"
said Mr Harrison, a civil engineer from
Darlington, Co Durham.
"It is an opportunity for a technology to make an
impact on climate change and make an impact on
the energy crisis facing this country and the
world.
"It looks and smells like petrol but it is much
cleaner and we don't have any nasty bits."
Source: Telegraph.co.uk