German Car Manufacturer Audi Creates Fuel From Air And Water 奥迪用“空气和水”合成新燃料 Creating an alternative green or carbon neutral fuel to replace gasoline has been the holy grail for scientists for many years. However, while there has been some progress with inventions like electric batteries and biofuel, most options are either too expensive or not commercially viable to compete effectively with the fossil fuel. Now automobile manufacturer Audi is stepping up to the challenge with a fuel made from carbon dioxide and water. 研究出环保且碳中性的燃料来代替汽油,一直被看做是科学界的圣杯。然而,虽然最近在蓄电池和生物燃料领域有些许进步,有些原材料还是因为过于昂贵或者不具商业价值,难敌化石燃料。奥迪公司现在正加快脚步,挑战一种由二氧化碳和水合成的新燃料。 Called e-diesel, the fuel developed in collaboration with Dresden-based Sunfire, was created in a lab using a simple but innovative technique. The scientists began by boiling water to temperatures exceeding 800°C (1,472°) using a renewable source of energy like solar, wind or hydropower. The resulting steam was decomposed into its two constituents, hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electrolysis. The researchers then transformed the carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. The hydrogen and carbon monoxide were piped into a reactor and subjected to extreme pressure and temperatures, to produce what scientists call long-chain hydrocarbons. This liquid that Audi refers to as "blue crude" was then refined in a similar way to standard crude oil to produce e-diesel. |