Solar mini-refinery for sustainable fuels
Here you will find foto and video material from the research plant that produces liquid hydrocarbon fuels exclusively from sunlight and air. For more information, please see the Download Press release (PDF, 93 KB).
Impressions from the research plant
The chemical process is powered by solar energy.. ? ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella
It produces around one decilitre of fuel per day. ? ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella
The research plant is located on the roof of the ETH building on Sonneggstrasse. ? ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella
Even under the climatic conditions in Zurich, the mini refinery proves the feasibility of the technology. ? ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella
In case of bad weather the system is protected by a mobile housing. ? ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella
The parabolic reflector bundles the light and directs it to the two reactors in the middle of the plant. ? ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella
The research plant produces syngas, which can be processedinto liquid hydrocarbon fuels through conventional methanol or Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. ? ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella
The solar mini-refinery briefly explained
