Synthetic fuels are made using renewable power (wind, solar, geothermal) and efficient industrial processes (carbon capture, electrolysis, thermal reactions) and should not be confused with biofuels or fuels made from waste. The raw materials are just air and water from which are obtained the ingredients carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Zero Petroleum uses Direct FT® (a proprietary and highly advanced version of Fischer-Tropsch) to directly manufacture target fuels (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) at high yield and with no need for refinery upgrading.
These are the five manufacturing steps:
1
Generation of renewable electricity typically by wind turbine or solar PV
2
Electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen
3
Capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
4
Direct FT® synthesis to produce the target fuel
5
Separation to produce individual certifiable products
Inputs: Air | Energy | Water
Outputs: Fuel | Oxygen
Petrosynthesis: 600 million years in 3 minutes
Synthetic petroleum is manufactured from hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a chemical process which reverses the oxidation and energy release that occurs during the combustion of any hydrocarbon material. Zero Petroleum calls this process petrosynthesis – an industrial version of the natural process that has taken up to 600 million years to create the fossil fuels we currently consume.
Download our White Paper for a wider perspective on this fascinating subject.