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From: dietz@cs.rochester.edu (Paul Dietz)
Newsgroups: sci.nanotech
Subject: Re: H20 + CO2 + electricity --> hydrocarbons  ?????
Keywords: solar power car gasoline energy storage
Message-ID: <Feb.27.18.03.39.1990.28585@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 27 Feb 90 23:03:40 GMT
Sender: nanotech@athos.rutgers.edu
Organization: University of Rochester Computer Science Department
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Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu

>[Well, in the case of maple sugar it's an incredibly inefficient way to 
> do it.  By far the best way would be some single-celled creature,
> in tanks.  However, I imagine that nanotech will obviate the whole
> problem by allowing (a) direct, high-efficiency conversion of light
> to electricity, and (b) efficient, high-density storage of electric
> power.  We shouldn't need to burn hydrocarbons in our cars at all.
> --JoSH]

But hydrocarbons are a good means of storing electricity, if the
conversion from/to electricity is efficient (it's a lot easier to
refuel a vehicle than to charge a battery, and it is much easier to
stockpile fuel or transport it large distances.)  This basically means
having good electrocatalysts.  Nanoengineering, even without full
nanotechnology, promises to give us better catalysts.  Even with
today's hit-or-miss catalysts, there are some interesting results.
For example, a copper electrocatalyst in 1 M KOH has been found to
convert CO2 to ethylene at 69% faradaic efficiency.

	Paul F. Dietz
	dietz@cs.rochester.edu