Single-step production of kerosene-based fuels from carbon dioxide and hydrogen

Air Company has developed carbon dioxide hydrogenation technology that produces paraffins (C8-C16 and higher) in a single step using only carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases as feedstock. The hydrogen gas is sourced using renewably powered water electrolysis; thus the only byproduct of the process is the oxygen that is coproduced from the electrolyzer. Coupling this system with direct air capture technologynbsp;enables production of kerosene-based fuels using only air, water, and renewable electricity. Air Company has demonstrated this process at the pilot scale, producing a metric ton of products per week and operating for over 8,600 operating hours in 2021.nbsp;Phase 1 focused on developing a model that describes the CO2nbsp;to kerosene process. While the model helped us identify the areas of uncertainty, additional operational data is still needed to build a high-fidelity model that allows us to optimize the reactor performance. To address the data gap and further support Phase 2 efforts, we will expand the model with more granular data obtained primarily by lab-scale testing and supported by available pilot scale data. We will further leverage progress made in Phase 1 to optimize our fuel production and downstream processing tonbsp;inform fuel formulation and production to meet ASTM specificationsnbsp;to ensure the produced fuel meets the standard.nbsp;nbsp;At the end of this STTR project, a technical feasibility report for deploying this technology on Earth and Mars will be thoroughly assessed and delivered to NASA.nbsp;