Carbon Dioxide: The Fuel of the Future

The greenhouse gas everyone's talking about these days, the bane (and result) of our existence, can now be put to good use. It can be captured and turned into liquid fuels that are actually carbon neutral, according to scientists from Sandia National Laboratories. They're building a prototype that is designed to chemically transform carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using concentrated solar power. The carbon monoxide can then be used to make hydrogen or serve as a building block for making a liquid combustible fuel, such as methanol, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

This "Sunshine to Petrol" approach is still at least 15 years away from going on the market, but what an idea – using solar power to turn one of our most dangerous greenhouse gases into a highly usable fuels. Genius. But this is one daring plan. In order to capture the carbon dioxide, it must be caught where it's most concentrated, such as smoke stacks and power plants, although the scientists hope to eventually suck it directly from the air.

The prototype should be finished sometime next year.