Solar Jet Power Generation

What is solar-Jet & how does it work?

The SOLAR-JET (Solar chemical reactor demonstration and optimization for long-term availability of renewable jet fuel) project optimised a two-step thermochemical cycle based on ceria redox reactions to produce syngas from CO2 and water. The syngas was then converted into kerosene via the already available commercial Fischer-Tropsch technology.

Could renewable kerosene make solar jet fuel more sustainable?

EU-funded scientists produced for the first time a solar jet fuel made from the simplest form of ingredients: water and carbon dioxide (CO2). Using concentrated light as a high-temperature energy source, the team demonstrated production of renewable kerosene that could bring us closer to a more sustainable fuel.

Can solar-jet be used as a petrochemical precursor?

Relying on abundant feedstock such as water, CO2 and sunlight, SOLAR-JET's technology should produce a high-grade precursor for petrochemical processing to refined products. Except for refined jet fuel, the technology could be used in producing sustainable substitutes for all petroleum-based products in future aircraft lightweight structures.

How does a solar fuel plant in Madrid work?

This 15 m solar tower fuel plant is surrounded by 169 sun-tracking mirrors. A pilot-scale solar fuel reactor outside Madrid can produce jet fuel from two simple ingredients: carbon dioxide and water (Joule 2022, DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2022.06.012 ).

Is solar fuel technology far away from real-world implementation?

Jing Gu, a professor of inorganic chemistry at San Diego State University, says this pilot demonstration of the solar fuel technology at a scale close to industrial operation shows the technology is not so far away from real-world implementation.

How does a solar concentrator work?

ETH Zurich engineer Aldo Steinfeld and his team built a concentrator system that uses 169 solar-tracking mirrors to beam sunlight into a 16 cm pinhole in the reactor. To maximize its exposure to the light, the researchers placed the reactor atop a 15 m tower and angled it slightly downward.