Reducing the Carbon Footprint to Zero?

[ManTimeForgot]

Nanotube Tech Transforms CO2 Into Fuel: Discovery News

If this pans out, while it won't be zero per say, a very substantial amount of CO2 emissions would be converted into energy. This ranks up there with the re-engineered E-coli designed to produce crude oil. Worried about fossil fuel production? Just mass convert everything back into methane and crude oil!

MTF

 

[chrispenycate]

No, a very considerable quantity of energy would convert CO2 into fuel, which, when burnt, would release the CO2 back into the environment. A bit like growing plants, really, then harvesting biogas, especially since it's intended to use solar energy. Good, in that it gets more energy for a barrel of oil, but no real advance over the hydrogen ones (well, methane's easier to stock than hydrogen) and the commentary about catalysts – well, catalysts would poison in a standard exhaust flow, which means scrubbing the gasses to purify the carbon oxides, and the intermediate stage is carbon monoxide, so you don't want leaks…

Not just a free energy source, I'm afraid.

 

[Drachir]

Looks interesting. There seem to be so many different approaches to reducing carbon emissions or alternative fuel sources that eventually a few of them are going to be viable.