[ExI] Syngas was Re: Sell your Bitcoins!

[Keith Henson]

On Fri, Jun 5, 2026 at 2:32 PM Stuart LaForge via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> On 2026-06-05 12:12, Keith Henson via extropy-chat wrote:
> > Spike, concentrated solar will not do it. I looked into that while
> > trying to think of what might be done with Ivanpah. Maybe you have an
> > idea of how to use concentrated solar to make syngas, but I failed. I
> > considered falling coal in steam behind a window, but the problems
> > defeated me.
>
> What is the obstacle to concentrated solar? Syngas can be made between
> 800 and 2000 degrees C while the hottest solar furnace in the world
> reaches 3600 degrees C according to wiki. Is it a transport/ circulation
> or condenser/cooling problem?

It is the problem of heating carbon in steam with light. I have
considered a falling curtain of coal behind a window, but that is just
too complex to work. If the light could be directed down through a
window, maybe, but keeping the window clean on the inside, with all
that tar, I don't have a solution for. Open to suggestions. Direct
heating with sunlight would be more efficient, but we have a lot of
electrical energy in excess of what can be used.

> BTW, I think Pristoline  would be a good
> trade name for the product as it is a portmanteau of "pristine gasoline"
> aka clean fuel.

We don't make trash anywhere close to the rate of fuel we use.

In the long run, cars are going to have to be electric.

Other uses for oil are hard to substitute, but we will have to do it somehow.
> Stuart LaForge
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