Engineers at the University of Cincinnati have created a method of making fuel with the help of greenhouse gases. The process has the potential to be able to create fuel both on Earth and Mars. If the process is perfected, it could be exactly what NASA wants to provide fuel for rockets and other uses on Mars’ surface for future human missions.
Engineers used a carbon catalyst and reactor to convert CO2 into methane. The reaction harnessed is called the “Sabatier reaction,” getting its name from a late French chemist named Paul Sabatier. The process is already being used by NASA on the ISS to remove CO2 exhaled by astronauts from the air and convert it into rocket fuel that comes in handy for the orbital outpost’s thrusters.
Making Mars manned missions easy
Since Mars’ atmosphere is almost filled with carbon dioxide, engineers believe astronauts living and working on the surface of the Red Planet could generate half the fuel required to return home. With the ability to create fuel on Mars’ surface, it would reduce how much fuel needs to be carried from Earth. It will also reduce the weight of fuel that has to be carried to the Red Planet from our planet. Instead, astronauts will be able to carry more food and scientific equipment.
More perfection required
On Earth, the process holds the potential of capturing greenhouse gases from the air to curb climate change issues while creating fuel that could be used for other purposes. In the lab, the researchers are experimenting with several catalysts for the reaction, including graphene quantum dots, looking for ways to increase the amount of methane yield.
The process has also been improved over the last decade, which has resulted in a conversion process 100 times more productive than when it was discovered. The engineers have also worked with catalysts to produce different types of fuel such as ethylene. It is particularly important because it’s a chemical needed to develop several products such as rubber and plastic.
