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Solar thermochemistry uses the heat of the sun directly to heat a receiver adjacent to the solar reactor where the thermochemical process is performed. In contrast, indirect processes have solar energy converted to another form of energy first (such as biomass or electricity) that can then be used to produce a fuel. Indirect processes have been ...
The production of biofuels can be very energy intensive, which, if generated from non-renewable sources, can heavily mitigate the benefits gained through biofuel use. A solution proposed to solve this issue is to supply biofuel production facilities with excess nuclear energy, which can supplement the power provided by fossil fuels. [ 111 ]
In actuality, however, plants do not absorb all incoming sunlight (due to reflection, respiration requirements of photosynthesis and the need for optimal solar radiation levels) and do not convert all harvested energy into biomass, which results in a maximum overall photosynthetic efficiency of 3 to 6% of total solar radiation. [1]
The feedstock used to make the fuels either grow on arable land but are byproducts of the main crop, or they are grown on marginal land. Waste from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can also be used for second-generation biofuels, using e.g. anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, gasification to produce syngas or by direct combustion.
Biofuels include bioethanol, an alcohol made by fermentation—often used as a gasoline additive, and biodiesel, which is usually used as a diesel additive. Specific energy is energy per unit mass, which is used to describe the chemical energy content of a fuel, expressed in SI units as joule per kilogram (J/kg) or equivalent units. [1] Energy ...
Renewable energy in developing countries is an increasingly used alternative to fossil fuel energy, as these countries scale up their energy supplies and address energy poverty. Renewable energy technology was once seen as unaffordable for developing countries. [ 202 ]
Artificial photosynthesis is a chemical process that biomimics the natural process of photosynthesis.The term artificial photosynthesis is used loosely, referring to any scheme for capturing and then storing energy from sunlight by producing a fuel, specifically a solar fuel. [1]
The average rate of energy captured by global photosynthesis is approximately 130 terawatts, [6] [7] [8] which is about eight times the total power consumption of human civilization. [9] Photosynthetic organisms also convert around 100–115 billion tons (91–104 Pg petagrams , or billions of metric tons), of carbon into biomass per year.