合成燃料可以给世界提供清洁的汽油
内燃机可能仍然是一个有用的选择
世界范围内从化石燃料转向清洁能源 & 可再生能源发展势头强劲. 结果是, 包括电力生产在内的各行各业, 个人和商业交通, aviation and agriculture are looking to leave a net-zero footprint on the environment as soon as possible. Federal and State regulators are passing stringent standards for automotive and equipment manufacturers to meet, and these rulings are driving companies to become even more creative in producing cleaner burning vehicles and machinery.
What this means for the Auto-Diesel-EV technicians entering the workforce is that they could encounter vehicles on the roads and in repair shops that might be powered by a multitude of fuels in a diverse layout of drivetrains. 随着燃料公司开发新的和不同的解决方案来实现清洁排放目标, 这些技术将得到改进. They might also spawn competitive designs that might reveal further hybridization of technologies. 在不久的将来, 看到一辆合成燃料混合动力车可能不是一件容易的事, or a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine share the same road as a fully-电 vehicle, a fossil-fuel powered vehicle or an 电 vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell instead of a battery. A skilled technician will need to be able to service and repair all of these types of vehicles.
现在, the world will need fossil fuel power until EV vehicles gain a wide charging network and a streamlined, 可靠的矿物流可用于电池生产. 这些网络正在发展中, 电动汽车电池也在不断改进，充电速度更快，续航里程更长. 十大菠菜台子在路上了, 但还没到那一步, so we need to find ways to continue using our gas-powered vehicles while battery technology gets perfected. 与此同时，可能需要更清洁的东西来弥合差距. 合成燃料是另一种替代燃料解决方案, and renewable synthetic fuel can now become a part of the energy-mosaic that is our clean-climate solution.
电动汽车是工程技术的奇迹, 它们代表了清洁能源未来的一个极好的解决方案. 目前的一个缺点是，大多数电动汽车和混合动力汽车都很昂贵, so in the near future most transportation will continue to use internal combustion engines as EVs continue to be refined.
内燃机成为气候解决方案的一部分
到目前为止, 内燃机的日子屈指可数已成定局, 内燃机汽车将会灭绝. 这可能不再是真的了. The arrival of the first commercially available synthetic fuel now gives drivers of gas-powered automobiles and trucks in the United Kingdom a clean driving experience. 这种新产品被称为蓝色汽油，是第一种 商用合成汽油 现在在英国有售. 它是特种燃料制造商Coryton Advanced Fuels Ltd的产品. 科里顿的蓝色汽油已经证明了清洁的概念, 可持续燃料可以使内燃机保持良好运转. It has been adopted by The Mazda UK Heritage fleet and used as a racing fuel in the Dakar Rally of 2022. 现在公众可以买到的数量有限.
While availability of Coryton’s blue gasoline in the UK makes but a small dent in the amount required for mass consumption, 它宣告了一个充满希望的燃料新时代的到来. 随着目前电动汽车的可用性和实际使用的限制变得越来越明显, 竞争对手纷纷介入，开发各种类型的合成燃料. 这些燃料正在成为日常驾驶的现实. Major brands in the automotive and fuel industries are expending huge research and development (R&D)合成燃料开发预算, and the players involved read like an A-list of the transportation industry; brands include companies like Bosch, 埃克森美孚, 壳牌, 保时捷, 和博通. 而且还有更多.
它们总共代表了数百亿美元的专用R&D, 现在正在完善从水和碳捕获中生产的燃料, 乙醇作为动力燃料, 甚至从回收的塑料废物中提取燃料. 后者是博通的作品, 这家著名的意大利汽车设计公司与Select Fuels合作生产汽油1. Bertone is the company responsible for such incredibly wild designs as the Lamborghini Miura and Countach supercars, 很多阿尔法·罗密欧车型, 以及法拉利308GT4.
而生产低二氧化碳燃料是朝着正确方向迈出的一大步, 创造出一种能关闭生产循环的燃料, 这意味着一个完全碳中性的合成燃料循环, 是最终的奖赏.
闭式循环合成燃料生产是如何运作的
汽油是从地下开采石油制成的, 用它生产燃料, 并由于内燃而排放二氧化碳. This is an open-ended system that produces CO2 faster than the environment can remove it through photosynthesis. 这是气候问题的核心, 最终的目标是闭合这个循环, 并消耗十大菠菜台子产生的二氧化碳. 这意味着创造一种将燃烧的副产品再循环为燃料的过程, 如果完美的话, 代表着近乎无限的零排放燃料供应.
闭合循环合成燃料的生产需要大量的能量来工作, 哪些可以从现有的核能中提取. 太阳能和风能也可以为这一过程提供动力, 十大菠菜台子稍后会探讨这是如何实现的. All of these methods can contribute to producing the energy needed to power a closed-cycle synthetic fuel production system from an emission-free source2.
简单地说, synthetic fuel is made from captured carbon dioxide instead of fossilized carbon from crude oil. 这个过程类似于树木从动物和人类呼吸中吸收二氧化碳的过程, 并将其转化为能源，重新开始这个循环. 就合成燃料而言, a high-energy source needs to release the captured carbon to return it to a state where it can be used as fuel again.
许多能源都可以用来做这件事，核能是最好的选择. 这是因为核能的能量密度非常集中, 它是清洁的，电力流动是稳定的. 电力也可以来自水力、太阳能、风能甚至潮汐能. The goal is to use the most efficient mode available to convert carbon using an efficient catalyst to turn it into usable fuel.
封闭循环合成燃料竞争中的谁是谁
The companies involved in the closed-cycle production of synthetic fuel is a long list of the most prolific and experienced firms in the automotive and fuels industries. 以下是一些公司如何完善他们的合成燃料生产方法:
零石油从大气中吸收二氧化碳
Zero Petroleum’s process uses renewable energy in the form of 电ity from solar and wind farms. 这为从水中提取氢的电解作用提供了动力. 这个过程直接使用了周围大气中的碳. 这两种元素被合成为汽油、柴油或天然气. Scrubbing greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and using it as a raw material has the added benefit of helping cool the planet. 由此产生的燃料可以很容易地从现有的加油站供应3. 零石油公司还与英国皇家空军签订了合同, who has tested Zero Petroleum’s renewable jet fuel with the intention of making the Royal Air Force carbon neutral by 20403.
保时捷 & 合资伙伴利用风能制造合成燃料
保时捷, 70多年的高端跑车制造商, 正在利用风力发电来运行其在智利南部的合成燃料试验工厂. 之所以选择这个地区，是因为这里有持续的高速气流. 该工厂于2022年开业，第一年就生产了13万升合成燃料. 这个概念验证设施是与西门子能源的合资企业, 埃奈尔, 埃克森美孚和智利的加斯科 & ENAP通过AME，智利公司领导了这个十大菠菜台子3.
他们的工艺使用水和空气作为两种原料, 并使用甲醇制汽油工艺生产燃料. 这是Zero Petroleum使用的相同输入材料. The Methanol-to-Gasoline process creates Ch3OH (known as eMethanol) from the reaction between H2 and CO2. 然后将其转换为符合欧盟燃料标准EN-228的燃料. 这个过程也可以用来生产煤油，供涡轮飞机用作喷气燃料3.
Bosch-Mobility可再生合成燃料已经投入使用
"博世和其他公司已经在他们的公司车队中使用减少二氧化碳排放的燃料. 所以，如你所见，技术问题已经解决了。”4
——Ansgar Christ，博世合成和再生燃料专家
Bosch manufacturers a renewable synthetic fuel that is ready-to-use in existing gasoline powered vehicles. It can be used as a standalone product, or pumped right into the tank to mix with existing gasoline. Bosch creates their biofuels from waste materials that contain carbon – the source element that is converted into fuel. 其结果是，由于减少了温室气体，这种燃料满足了欧盟的立法要求.
简单地说, 生物燃料必须符合欧盟的可持续发展目标才能被允许使用, 博世的燃油符合EN-228汽油车标准, 和EN-590柴油动力车辆标准. 未来就在这里, as suggested by Bosch-Mobility when they stated “CO2 can be drawn from the atmosphere for the production of renewable synthetic fuels, 它建立了一个碳中和的循环和几乎无限的燃料供应4.”
为什么合成燃料对每个人都很重要
可再生合成燃料现已成为现实, and the scalability of production is being developed to give the consumer another alternative that includes keeping their gasoline-powered vehicles running into the future. 这个概念已经得到了验证，这种燃料已经在舰队中使用. 十大菠菜台子的目标是扩大这种清洁燃料的生产规模，并使每个人都能获得这种燃料. Any individual who claims to take the health of the environment seriously cannot discount the importance of renewable synthetic fuel, 或者忽略目前纯电动汽车的诸多限制.
The smooth transition to a cleaner fuel future can possibly include the use of the billions of already-existing vehicles with gasoline and diesel powered engines. 这可以保持世界的移动和运输在几乎任何预算范围内. 当世界继续规划和发展电动汽车的未来时, 可再生合成燃料可以解决十大菠菜台子目前的问题.
对有抱负的汽车行业的启示 & diesel technicians is this; the reality of renewable synthetic fuel can extend the lives of existing gasoline & 柴油动力汽车，以及燃料混合动力汽车. 技术人员的目标应该是继续磨练他们的内燃, 电, 以及混合动力汽车的保养技巧, 同时，随着新燃料类型进入市场，建立强大的知识基础. 这只会造就一个更有知识、更有能力的技术人员.
1 2月9日发表的文章《十大菠菜台子》, 2023, at http://www.carrozzieri-italiani.com/the-new-bertone-gb110/. 检索日期:2023年7月18日.
2 Article “Using Nuclear Energy to Produce Synthetic Fuels - A carbon-capture expert on synthesizing low-carbon fuels” by Pratchi Patel, 4月4日出版, 2023, at http://spectrum.ieee.org/synthetic-fuel. 检索日期:2023年7月18日.
3 文章《十大菠菜台子》，作者:迈克尔·泰勒, 3月23日出版, 2023 , at http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltaylor/2023/03/21/europe-looks-to-allow-synthetic-fuels-for-cars-after-all/，检索日期:2023年7月19日.
4 博世公司网站 http://www.bosch-mobility.com/en/mobility-topics/energy/synthetic-fuels/，检索日期:2023年8月10日.