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The Explainer VaultEnergy & Power

How Scientists Make Gasoline Out of THIN AIR

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Transcript

It's possible to make real gasoline out of nothing but air, water, and electricity.

Gasoline comes from oil buried for millions of years. So how could you brew it from thin air?

You start with two ingredients. First, split water with renewable electricity to get clean hydrogen. Second, pull carbon dioxide straight out of the atmosphere. Then, using heat, pressure, and a metal catalyst, you chemically stitch the hydrogen and carbon together into long chains, the exact same molecules found in normal fuel. The result is synthetic gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel.

The clever part is the carbon loop. The CO2 released when you burn this fuel is the same CO2 that was pulled from the air to make it. In theory, you can pour it into a normal engine and drive on fuel that adds almost no new carbon to the planet.

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