OVER the last few years in this country there has been a big push towards diesel; indeed, motorists and car enthusiasts have been positively encouraged to buy the new generation of cleaner diesel vehicles. However, now the experts are saying that the contaminants contained within diesel emissions are allegedly a major cause of pollution, diesel is rapidly becoming the ‘bad guy’ of the climate change argument.
The race for cleaner fuel
The race is on to create new, cleaner fuels which don’t cost the earth – in all senses of the word. Audi are at the forefront in the race to produce the next generation of cars which run on alternative energy and has recently showcased vehicles which are all-electric or hybrids, and even synthetic natural gas powered. They have made an all-electric version of their awesome R8 supercar, the R8 e-tron, (not destined for general sale at this present time) which has two 190hp motors, a super light body and massive lithium battery pack – and therein lies the big problem with electric cars.
Audi’s Discovery – Could it change the ecology of driving forever?
But now Audi’s research team has achieved what may be the Holy Grail of fuel production and have come up with a method for making diesel out of just water and carbon dioxide. German clean tech firm Sunfire have built a demonstration rig – the only one of its kind worldwide for power-to-liquid production, and managed to produce synthetic diesel with those all-important eco-properties, that is – diesel which does not contain any fossil oils or sulphur.
This is achieved by the simple method of splitting water molecules into oxygen and pure hydrogen then mixing with carbon dioxide gathered from a biogas plant. The resulting liquid, named ‘Blue Crude’ is then further refined into biodiesel. Laboratory tests, and real-time tests using an Audi A2, were carried out with the full support of the German Ministry of Education and Research after which the fuel was approved on the basis that it is superior to fossil fuel; engines run cleaner and quieter and fewer pollutants are created. Audi has said that the new fuel is suitable for either using by itself or mixed with regular diesel. Sunfire’s Dresden-based production plant is intending to produce around 160 litres of the new synthetic diesel per day with the hope that expansion of production will follow sales orders, followed by hopefully a fall in pump prices.
Johanna Wanka, Germany’s Federal Minister of Education and Research, was directly involved in the testing of the new fuel and spoke of her optimism saying, “This synthetic diesel, made using CO2, is a huge success for our sustainability research. If we can make widespread use of CO2 as a raw material we will make a crucial contribution to climate protection and the efficient use of resources.”
Still a long way to go
It’s clear the Germans are clearly convinced that this is the fuel of the future. Having less pollution in the atmosphere is obviously a good thing but it remains to be seen what effect this technology will have on new car prices, assuming engines will need to be re-developed to accommodate the new fuel. And this could potentially spell the demise of the electric vehicle with their environmentally-unfriendly battery disposal and requirement for costly electricity usage.
Image Credit: www.audi.co.uk/content/audi/about-audi/latest-news/audi-primes-the-pumps-with-new-synthetic-water-based-e-diesel.html
