Water is turned into fuel

German technology company first introduced a device that converts water and carbon dioxide into liquid fuels.

The machine is a product of Sunfire GmbH, which operates the Fischer-Tropsch process to convert carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons.

The engine converts fuel from water and carbon dioxide. (Photo: Sunfire GmbH)

Initially, the water is converted to the vapor form in parallel with the separation of oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen is then used to transform carbon dioxide _(CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO). At this stage, CO will combine with hydrogen to form liquid hydrocarbons. It could become a replacement fuel for gas, diesel and jet fuel, which is made from oil.

Sunfire says that the overall energy efficiency of the process is currently 70%, a better figure than conventional petrol or diesel engines. However, the requirement is that a large amount of electricity is needed to convert water into steam.

Simulate the fueling process. (Photo: Sunfire GmbH)

According to Gizmodo, on average, a converter can handle 3.2 tons of CO _{2 a day} to create a fuel tank. Therefore, in order to meet the world's current use of fuel, scientists estimate the need for a wide range of machinery, equipment and costs.

CO ₂ is one of the gases that cause the warming of the Earth. Environmentalists believe that reducing CO ₂ in the air, reducing fossil fuel combustion (such as oil and coal) is the most effective way to combat climate change.