SpaceX is embarking on a bold new adventure: making rocket fuel out of thin air.
“SpaceX is starting a program to take CO2 out of atmosphere & turn it into rocket fuel,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Monday. “Please join if interested.”
The news comes after Musk announced a $100 million prize to come up with carbon removal technologies earlier this year. The goal is to pull 1,000 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere annually — and eventually scaling up the operation dramatically.
“I think this is one of those things that is going to take a while to figure out what the right solution is,” Musk explained back in April. “And especially to figure out what the best economics are for CO2 removal.”
“Right now we’ve only got one planet,” Musk said at the time. “Even a 0.1 percent chance of disaster — why run that risk? That’s crazy!”
Out of all of the different greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the GHG causing the largest impact on our climate by creating a greenhouse effect that traps thermal radiation into the Earth’s atmosphereAmmonia, a molecule that is gaining more interest as a fueling vector, has been considered as a candidate to power transport, produce energy, and support heating applications for decades. However, the particular characteristics of the molecule always made it a chemical with low, if any, benefit once compared to conventional fossil fuels. A scientist at Ohio University has developed a catalyst capable of extracting hydrogen from human urine. Ammonia provides a source of hydrogen for fuel cells. It contains 17% hydrogen by weight, which can be extracted via thermal catalytic decomposition (a solar ray converter) or electro-oxidation. Alternatively ammonia may be oxidized directly in fuel cells without the need for a separate reactor. This might also help with warmth on the Space Station or Dragon capsule.
Further catalysts of this converter could possibly evolve into a support mechanism for future artificial gravity. This future catalyst and magnetic friction plates would simulate gravity. Just need to work on saying the after product into drinkable H2O. For Elon just an idea. I’ve been thinking of this concept since I was 11-12yrs old, now in my early 50’s. Happy Holidays to you and yours.