Solar kerosene from H₂O and CO₂

The entire production chain for renewable kerosene obtained directly from sunlight, H₂O, and CO₂ is experimentally demonstrated. The key component of the production process is a high-temperature solar reactor containing a reticulated porous ceramic (RPC) structure made of ceria, which enables the splitting of H₂O and CO₂ via a 2-step thermochemical redox cycle. In the 1^st reduction step, ceria is endo-thermally reduced using concentrated solar radiation as the energy source of process heat. In the 2^nd oxidation step, nonstoichiometric ceria reacts with H₂O and CO₂ to form H₂ and CO – syngas – which is finally converted into kerosene by the Fischer-Tropsch process. The RPC featured dual-scale porosity for enhanced heat and mass transfer: mm-size pores for volumetric radiation absorption during the reduction step and μm-size pores within its struts for fast kinetics during the oxidation step. We report on the engineering design of the solar reactor and the experimental demonstration of over 290 consecutive redox cycles for producing high-quality syngas suitable for the processing of liquid hydrocarbon fuels.