A new study led by the University of Sheffield suggests solar energy could be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel by combining captured CO2 with hydrogen and heating it using concentrated sunlight
-1774946363252_d.png "Solar energy could be key to making sustainable aviation fuel: Study")
Representational Image
A new way of making sustainable aviation fuel that could cut the reliance on used cooking oil as a feedstock has been developed by a team of engineers led by the University of Sheffield.
The new technique captures CO2 from the air, combines it with hydrogen and then heats it using concentrated solar energy to produce the fuel.
a study published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers used comprehensive computer modelling and simulation to understand how and where this first-of-a-kind technology could function at an industrial scale.
Their analysis suggests that five countries across different continents could be suitable for such large-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plants, due to their high levels of sunlight and low costs of hydrogen or land. These are: the US, Chile, Spain, South Africa and China.
The research follows recent statistics from the UK's SAF mandate, which show the majority of SAF in the UK is made from used cooking oil.
Meihong Wang, Professor of Energy Systems at the University of Sheffield, who led the research, said: "Decarbonising the aviation industry is key to slowing global warming and achieving net zero. SAF has emerged as a promising solution to meet energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
The solar-driven SAF technique was developed in collaboration with researchers from the East China University of Science and Technology. It improves on an existing proposed way of making SAF called Direct Air Capture and CO2 Utilisation (DACCU), which is currently in the research and development phase.
The researchers have shown in their study that replacing fossil fuel with concentrated solar energy is capable of providing the intense heat needed to create the chemical reactions to produce SAF.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
