Could concentrated solar energy be used to reverse combustion
and convert carbon dioxide back into gasoline? That's what
scientists at Sandia National Laboratories, in Albuquerque, NM,
aim to find out by building a novel reactor that can chemically
"reenergize" carbon dioxide. The device uses a two-stage
thermochemical reaction to break down carbon dioxide to produce
carbon monoxide, says Nathan Siegel, a senior member of
technical staffat Sandia's Solar Technologies Department and one
of the researchers developing the technology. "Carbon dioxide is
a combustion product, so what we're doing is reversing
combustion," he says. The carbon monoxide can then readily be
employed to produce a range of different fuels, including
hydrogen, methanol, and gasoline, using conventional
technologies. Within the Sandia reactor, invented by Sandia
researcher Rich Diver, is a ring of a cobalt-ferrite ceramic
material, which is essentially made up of iron oxide and cobalt.
A parabolic solar concentrator directs sunlight onto t