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How difficult would it be to use nuclear power to make synthetic hydrocarbons?
by screcth 2y ago
How difficult would it be to use nuclear power to make synthetic hydrocarbons?
- actionfromafar 2y agoIf using electricity, it's "easy", first you split water into hydrogen and then use the Sabatier reaction. Of course, any electricity is fine. One could get (much) higher efficiency by using the heat from a nuclear power plant directly (never producing electricity) but I guess that would have to be a completely custom design. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction
- cyberax 2y agoNuclear power by itself? It's useless. It can only produce low-grade industrial heat. If you have spare electricity (from any source), it's easy. Just capture some CO2 and react it with hydrogen with specific catalysts and at a high pressure. You can get methanol directly this way. It's more expensive than fossil fuels at the current prices, so nobody cares.