The Green Analysis

Instead of extracting oil from the ground, it is now becoming increasingly viable to produce synthetic oil. By using carbon dioxide that has already been removed from the atmosphere, synthetic oil can be used as a carbon-neutral fuel source. As the world is getting ready to take the next step to become fully carbon neutral, what are the chances that synthetic fuel made from captured carbon dioxide will become humanity’s next main energy source?

How it Works

There are many different types of synthetic fuels, and each company has its own method for producing them, but the general rundown is this. Oil, the primary fuel companies are trying to mimic, is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is primarily made of carbon and hydrogen. So, to make these fuels renewable, the carbon used to form these synthetic hydrocarbons is either from direct air capture or from refining waste down into carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is then bonded to hydrogen through chemical reactions driven by Cobalt or Iron catalysts. Hydrogen is made by taking water and extracting it via electrolysis. Electrolysis uses two metal rods and passes a current through the water between the two rods; the electricity then causes the bonds between hydrogen and oxygen to break down, separating the two elements.

Applications

Although battery power is the primary sustainability option for cars, buses, trains, and even some boats, synthetic fuel still has a tremendous role in achieving carbon neutrality. Synthetic fuels can be used as a replacement for fossil fuels used in jet fuels, textiles, and fertilizers. The most development being done on synthetic fuels is as a jet fuel alternative where, based on current testing, it seems to be performing more efficiently and cleaner than its original counterpart. The promise of synthetic fuels provides a carbon-neutral energy source without needing to switch platforms to a different type of energy; this way, the same carbon-emitted cars can now use synthetic oil in the future and become carbon-neutral.

Obstacles

Before synthetic oil can become the future energy source, some fundamental obstacles must be overcome for it to succeed. Primarily, the energy-intensive procedures used to create synthetic oil require costly infrastructure and a lot of energy, making producing synthetic oil expensive. Even more so, synthetic oil is still largely in development, meaning it cannot be produced in the massive amounts that oil is being used up each day. However, many facilities are being made to create millions of gallons of synthetic oil per year and meet the world’s energy demand. With time, our methods of producing synthetic oil will get more efficient and require less energy.