Harnessing Solar Energy For Sustainable Ocean-based CO2-to-fuel Conversion

Abstract

The ocean has absorbed approximately 35% of the cumulative CO 2 emissions since the industrialrevolution. Various methods have been proposed to capture CO 2 from the ocean, thereby enabling theocean to absorb additional CO 2 from the atmosphere. One of the most sustainable approaches for storing CO 2 captured from seawater is to convert it into fuels, using solar energy. This proposal aims toinvestigate the feasibility of ocean-based CO 2 -to-fuel conversion technology through a collaborativeeffort between ocean scientist Dr. Xingchen Tony Wang and materials and physical chemist Dr. JierHuang. We plan to construct a laboratory prototype, which links an oceanic CO 2 capture system to aCO 2 conversion system. In this prototype, our objective is to process up to 500 liters of seawater andconvert the extracted CO 2 into CO and other fuels. After one year of exploratory research with this seedgrant, we aim to gather preliminary data to support an application for an external grant.