Wojciech Lipiński obtained his Master of Science degree in environmental engineering from Warsaw University of Technology (2000), doctorate in mechanical and process engineering from ETH Zurich (2004), and habilitation in energy technology from ETH Zurich (2009). At the focus of his research program is the study of transport phenomena, in particular radiative transfer, and multiphase reactive flows in concentrated solar thermal energy systems for production of power, fuels, and materials. Dr Lipiński has published over 170 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings and contributed to several books, edited books and e-books. Dr Lipiński is serving on editorial boards of Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, Computational Thermal Sciences, and Solar Energy. He is a member of the Scientific Council and the Executive Committee of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer. He is also involved in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Optical Society of America, and several other professional societies. Dr Lipiński’s contributions to research and education have been recognised with several honours and awards including the Hilti Award for Innovative Research from ETH Zurich (2006), the College of Science and Engineering Outstanding Professor Award from the University of Minnesota (2010), the Elsevier/JQSRT Raymond Viskanta Award in Radiative Transfer (2013), the Future Fellowship by the Australian Research Council (2014), and the Yellot Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2020). He is Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2021
Abstract
SOLAR THERMAL PRODUCTION OF SYNTHETIC HYDROCARBON FUELS
High-flux solar irradiation obtained with optical concentrators is an excellent source of clean process heat for hightemperature physical and chemical processing. The area of solar thermochemistry aims at direct thermochemical production of chemical fuels and advanced thermochemical processing of materials. Cheap and efficient solar production of synthesis gas, the precursor to synthetic drop-in hydrocarbon fuels such as petrol, diesel and kerosene, is an intriguing approach to transform today’s fossil-based to tomorrow’s renewable-based transportation sector. In the most ambitious scenario, synthesis gas is obtained from sunlight, water and recycled carbon dioxide. This presentation gives an overview of recent developments in the field of high-temperature solar thermochemistry for carbon dioxide capture and recycling. The processes discussed include carbon dioxide separation via chemical looping of carbonates, thermochemical redox cycles for carbon dioxide splitting, and dry gasification and reforming of carbonaceous materials