25JUN2019 - NEWS - Floating Islands That Convert Carbon Dioxide to Alternative Fuels Could Be Answer to Global Warming, Study Says

Could giant floating islands that use solar power to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide to engine fuel be the planet's answer to eliminating greenhouse gas emissions? A recent study says yes, but other experts say the idea is far from reality.

"Humankind must cease CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning if dangerous climate change is to be avoided," researchers wrote in the study, published this month in the journal PNAS.

"The recycling of atmospheric CO2 into synthetic fuels, using renewable energy, offers an energy concept with no net CO2 emission. We propose to implement, on a large scale, marine-based artificial islands, on which solar or wind energy powers the production of hydrogen and the extraction of CO2 from seawater and where these gases are catalytically reacted to yield liquid methanol fuel."

Methanol is an alternative fuel that can be used on its own or mixed with gasoline in automobile engines.