HyperSolar is announcing its concept for creating natural gas by solving CO2 and wastewater treatment issues.
The carbon emitted by power plant smokestacks could one day help heat your home. A start-up company is attempting to patent its process to manufacture natural gas by combining solar power with carbon dioxide and water.
Santa Barbara, CA. based HyperSolar was inspired by nature: the process mimics photosynthesis. A solar powered nanoparticle system separates hydrogen from water; the hydrogen is then mixed with carbon dioxide, producing methane.
(Chemistry buffs: the former reaction is a form of photoelectrochemical reaction, and the latter is a Sabatier reaction.)
HyperSolar announced its patent application today, is in the conceptual phases of development, and did not name any partnerships. It intends to be competitive with future natural gas prices, and will lower its cost of production by solving wastewater and CO2 disposal problems.
