Recycle fossil fuels?

[Pirate88179]

Does anyone think it is possible to recycle fossil fuels?

What I mean is this....when hydrogen is burned in an internal combustion engine, the burning process,
which if I recall from my chemistry classes, (long ago) combines it with oxygen and H2O then comes out as
the end result.

My thoughts are about the possibility of using a catalyst device or other such means to recycle the hydrocarbon
fuel and reverse the "burning" process chemically in a way similar as mentioned above.  Is this even possible?  Has this been tried?

The converters used today convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide without any additional energy input.  I have no real chemistry background or understanding of even how this might be done.  I was just wondering if anyone else knew anything about this idea or if it has been tried in the past.

So, if hydrogen can be burned and turned back into water, and then re-used, possibly gasoline or some other related fuel (natural gas?) can be handled the same way?  I understand that outside energy is required to break the H2O back into O and H, but in my example, just maybe this energy would be less than is required to drill, pump, and refine the fuel in the first place.  Plus, it would greatly expand our current resources as does any recycling program.

Forgive me if I should have posted this under Half-baked ideas.  I don't even consider this idea 2% baked.

Any input, opinions or information would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Bill

[Pirate88179]

No thoughts or ideas anyone?  This may not even be possible.  I will ask a chemist I know but I was hoping to get some input from folks here.

Thanks.

Bill

[ChileanOne]

Hello Pirate!

As an Agronomist I have to tell you that nature already found the answer via photosyntesis, it turns CO2 into complex carbohidrates, that, if left to mineralize, in a long time become hidrocarbons. Only it takes millions of years...

Now, seriously, I have imagined many times how CO2 could be catalized into complex molecules (lets say one of 4 carbons like Butanol, good to go as gasoline replacement) by a complex crystaline nano estructure capable of being syntethyzed cost effectively. The area to surface of such a "sponge", which I imagine being of precious metals for the same reasons as it is used in normal exhaust catalyzators, should be huge in order to be of practical use.

The exact configuration of such a crystaline metal nanostructure is something that in short must do the same job that today do metabolic photosyntetic pathways, but more efficiently in terms of micro spatial arrangement of products and substrates, like a nanoscale "mounting line".

I can imagine such a thing is possible, it's an espontaneous Idea that comes to my mind like the "Ultima ratio" that allowed Newton to solve integrals and sumatories just by looking at them. I just could not tell how to do it, but I imagine myself aligning atoms one by one with the help of a Tunnel effect electronic microscope to create the original matrix of the catalzator matrix that would be then replicated automatically...

I wish I could have the tools and co workers to research such idea. I wonder how many compounds more complex than Butanol could be synthetized out of air and a car's exhaust... But just achieving Butanol (4 carbons only!) would change the world for ever!!!!



Darn, If I could

[Pirate88179]

Thank you for your detailed reply.  This is way out of my field but I felt is was worth exploring.  I think that the more we work with the natural order and mother nature, the better off we are.  By this, I mean, look at the natural world.  Trees breathe in co2 and exhale (sort of) O.  We breathe in O and exhale co2.  Works kinda nice doesn't it?  Yes, I know, solar energy is involved and all but my point is, I think any true answer will have already been used by mother nature.

Bill

[ChileanOne]

Thank you for your detailed reply.  This is way out of my field but I felt is was worth exploring.  I think that the more we work with the natural order and mother nature, the better off we are.  By this, I mean, look at the natural world.  Trees breathe in co2 and exhale (sort of) O.  We breathe in O and exhale co2.  Works kinda nice doesn't it?  Yes, I know, solar energy is involved and all but my point is, I think any true answer will have already been used by mother nature.

Bill

Well, actually plants and photothropic microorganisms "eat" Carbon transforming it from its most oxidized form (CO2) to higly reduced forms (Carbohidrates) using the free energy from the sun for it, entering carbon to the food chain, and, in that sense, all life in planet is "solar powered". O2, and that's funny, would be like a by product from the reduction of the CO2 molecules (something like the farts of the photosinthetic organism, LOL).

Regards!