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Space/Science » in reply to Canada's impending energy crisis

Re: Canada's impending energy crisis
Success_Machine — (archived)

We need 85 billion watts. If we use solar power at 15% efficiency we need say 570 billion watts of sunlight to manufacture synthetic fuel. Earth receives 250 watts per square meter of sunlight, we need 228,000 hectares (880 sq. miles) of solar concentrators to do the job.

Industrial-scale electrolysis of water into hydrogen & oxygen has a 67% efficiency. So multiply by 1.54 to use hydrogen fuel in cars & trucks. That's 351,120 hectares (1356 sq. miles)

We might further convert the hydrogen into methanol since it is more convenient in that form.

Manufacturing methanol:
Carbon and water at 1000 deg. C produces carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. When a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the ratio 2:1 is passed over a catalyst (e.g. a mixture of zinc oxide and chromium oxide) under high pressure and at high temperature, methanol is formed.

I figure there's a better way. Someone out there knows.

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