Audi just created diesel fuel from air and water

[Wretched]

Audi is making a new fuel for internal combustion engines that has the potential to make a big dent when it comes to climate change – that's because the synthetic diesel is made from just water and carbon dioxide.

The company's pilot plant, which is operated by German startup Sunfire in Dresden, produced its first batches of the "e-diesel" this month. German Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna ****a put a few liters of the fuel in her work car, an Audi A8, to commemorate the accomplishment.

The base fuel is referred to as "blue crude," and begins by taking electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar or hydropower and using it to produce hydrogen from water via reversible electrolysis. The hydrogen is then mixed with CO2 that has been converted into CO in two chemical processes and the resulting reactions produce a liquid made from long-chain hydrocarbons – this is blue crude, which is then refined to create the end product, the synthetic e-diesel.

Audi says that the carbon dioxide used in the process is currently supplied by a biogas facility but, further adding to the green impacts of the process, some of the CO2 is captured directly from the ambient air, taking the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere.

Sunfire claims that analysis shows the properties of the synthetic diesel are superior to fossil fuel, and that its lack of sulphur and fossil-based oil makes it more environmentally friendly. The overall energy efficiency of the fuel creation process using renewable power is around 70 percent, according to Audi.

"The engine runs quieter and fewer pollutants are being created," says Sunfire CTO Christian von Olshausen.

The fuel can be combined with conventional diesel fuel, as is often done with biodiesel fuels already.

The Dresden pilot plant is set to produce about 42 gallons (160 l) of synthetic diesel per day in the coming months, and the two companies say the next step is to build a bigger plant.

"If we get the first sales order, we will be ready to commercialize our technology," von Olshausen says.

Sunfire anticipates that the market price for the synthetic diesel could be between 1 and 1.5 Euros per liter, which would be nearly competitive or a little more expensive than current diesel prices in Europe, but the actual figure will be largely dependent on the price of electricity.

For an overview of the production process, check out the promotional video below.

http://www.gizmag.com/audi-creates-e...rom-co2/37130/

[GasoLane]

This may be just my warped sense of humour, but the one thing that stood out in that article was the German Federal Minister of Education and Research's surname

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

This may be just my warped sense of humour, but the one thing that stood out in that article was the German Federal Minister of Education and Research's surname

Johanna 'Two Hands' ****a

Cool invention though, I wonder how common rail diesels are going to react on this fuel long term? With old school IDI diesels they will run on just about anything, waste vegetable oil mixtures of diesel + waste motor oil/waste trans oil but it has to be filtered very well:

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/f...on_fluid_fuel/

[cheap]

Alternatively plant trees... http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copaifera_langsdorffii

[mik]

It will be interesting to see if they follow through with the technology or if it will end up just a flash in the pan so to speak, there must many ways to make synthetic fuel , more than likely it just comes down to how much profit can be made from it as whether we end up getting it.

yes the poor lady, her last name she must of got ribbed terribly at school because of it, you cant help but think some peoples last names the originators must have had a very different sense of humour.

[cs123]

Was reading about this the other day on reddit. Bit of a beat up apparantly. Tech has been around for a long time to do it but not viable as a main stream fuel.

[superpursuit83]

more likely the oil companys will buy the technology and you will never see it again

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Johanna 'Two Hands' ****a

Cool invention though, I wonder how common rail diesels are going to react on this fuel long term? With old school IDI diesels they will run on just about anything, waste vegetable oil mixtures of diesel + waste motor oil/waste trans oil but it has to be filtered very well:

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/f...on_fluid_fuel/

Most likely by the time this is available & commercially viable the current diesels technology will be probably be on the scrap heaps, I see this technology for the future not now.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by superpursuit83

more likely the oil companys will buy the technology and you will never see it again

Originally Posted by cs123

Was reading about this the other day on reddit. Bit of a beat up apparantly. Tech has been around for a long time to do it but not viable as a main stream fuel.

Yep, have heard of many who have already designed fuel systems from tap water only to be bought out or made to disappear if they don't shut down the idea. Greed at it's finest.

[malazn mafia]

They should just keep such an invention quiet. Before soon governments will be taxing air and water, we don't want that do we??

[deadfish2]

thee big oil and fuel producers will get it shut down,