Conferencia de Aldo Steinfeld Liquid Fuels from Water, CO2, and Solar Energy

Solar thermochemical processes for the production of synthetic hydrocarbon fuels make use of concentrated solar radiation as the energy source of high-temperature process heat. Considered are H2O/CO2-splitting thermochemical cycles via metal oxide redox reactions and gasification processes for the thermal conversion of biomass and other carbonaceous feedstock. R&D work encompasses fundamental studies on thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, heat/mass transfer, and chemical reactor engineering. Solar reactor prototypes – at the 10 kW power level – are designed, fabricated, modeled, and tested in a high-flux solar furnace, further optimized for maximum solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency, and finally scaled-up for industrial applications – at the MW power level – using concentrating solar tower technology.

Aldo Steinfeld

Is Professor at the Dept. of Mechanical and Process Engineering of ETH Zurich, where he holds the Chair of Renewable Energy Carriers. He further directs the Solar Technology Laboratory at the Paul Scherrer Institute. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1989. His research program is aimed at the advancement of the thermal and thermochemical engineering sciences applied to renewable energy technologies. The research focus is in high-temperature heat/mass transfer phenomena and multi-phase reacting flows, with applications in solar power and fuels production, fossil fuel decarbonization processes, and CO2 capture, mitigation, and recycling technologies. Prof. Steinfeld is member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences and Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences and member of the Scientific Council of the Institute Imdea Energía.