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Other than the fossil fuels already being used, there doesn't seem to be anything energy dense enough for commercial air travel coming any time soon. Maybe som
by Apes 4y ago
Other than the fossil fuels already being used, there doesn't seem to be anything energy dense enough for commercial air travel coming any time soon.
Maybe some kind of in-air carbon capture on the engines?
- bobthepanda 4y agoIt would generally be better to do the syngas generation on the ground in major hubs, since it’s probably like most industrial processes where scale improves economics. If only there were hubs that planes congregated at on the ground.
- californical 4y agoCarbon capture doesn’t create energy, it uses a lot of energy to generate fuel. This makes it excellent where you have lots of renewable energy that may be irregular (like wind), since hydrocarbons are an incredibly dense energy storage mechanism. You can then create fuel from that renewable energy and use it to power everything (like planes). Not the best to create on a plane tho I actually think carbon capture is a great solution to global warming and general oil depletion, since hydrocarbons are such a great energy source for everything except their pollution characteristics. If we can build out carbon capture / hydrocarbon production facilities that use renewable energy, and we can do it cheaper than current oil extraction, I think we’re set to just use hydrocarbons forever! We really just need a breakthrough that makes the whole process more economical, which (fingers crossed) is actually possible within our lifetimes
- rob74 4y agoThat would be literally engines operating on thin air, so no, I don't see that happening...