Swiss Airline plans to start using synthetic jet fuel created with the help of concentrated solar energy for the first time in the world. It creates exactly as much carbon dioxide as it takes to produce it. This is reported by the manufacturer of solar fuel Synhelion.
The International Civil Aviation Organization recommends that airlines maintain carbon dioxide emissions no higher than 2020 levels, and by 2050 reduce emissions of harmful substances by 50 percent compared to 2005 levels.
One of the ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions for aviation is to switch to more environmentally friendly fuels. For example, biofuels or synthetic fuels. The first is obtained from vegetable raw materials, beef fat and household waste. And the second is from water and carbon dioxide. It is considered environmentally neutral because it does not affect the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in any way.
Synhelion creates synthetic jet fuel using solar energy. The radiation is reflected by a mirror field, concentrated on the receiving tower and converted into heat. The heat is then sent to a thermochemical reactor that produces synthetic gas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. And already from this synthetic gas, fuel is obtained using gas- liquid conversion .
On March 1, Synhelion announced that it had concluded a cooperation agreement with Swiss and Lufthansa Group, under which Swiss will become the first buyer of its solar jet fuel in 2023. And probably the first airline to start using this type of fuel. It is not specified when exactly the Swiss aircraft will take off for the first time on solar synthetic fuel.
Earlier we wrote about an experimental plant for the production of synthetic fuel in Spain, where the reactors are completely powered by solar energy. It is based on a solar concentrator that increases the energy density of solar radiation by 2.5 thousand times.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva