Team Studies Recycling Carbon Dioxide into Petrol

U.S. scientists at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico are testing a new reactor that could possibly recycle the chemical carbon dioxide into petrol.

The prototype device will utilize concentrated solar energy to sustain energy that would create chemical reactions that split carbon dioxide molecules to get carbon monoxide. This same method was used to split water to form hydrogen, and these two substances can be combined to synthesise liquid hydrocarbon fuels, such as methanol or petrol.
While the researchers are optimistic, some believe that splitting the carbon monoxide molecule, which is very stable, is extremely difficult. Others think that the wisest course of action may be to bury the greenhouse gas underground. While the normal course of action is for solar plants to generate electricity, these researchers believe it can split CO2.
Jim Miller, Nathan Siegel, and Richard Diver of the Sandia team maintain that the ‘Sunshine to Petrol’ (S2P) project may be able to produce liquid fuels from CO2. Their long-term goal is to have a relay of solar-powered reactors, each of which would collect 22kg of carbon dioxide and 18 kg of water daily to produce 2.5 gallons of petrol.