Using sunlight to increase efficiency of natural-gas turbines

New York Times : Later this summer the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory hopes to test a process to reduce natural gas use by 20%. The process uses a parabolic mirror to focus sunlight on a chamber housing water and natural gas (CH ₄). The chamber heats to a temperature of 700 °C, and uses a catalyst to react the two chemicals to create carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas, and carbon dioxide, a mixture called synthesis gas. The gas is then burned to drive a turbine, but not before being sent through a heat exchanger that cycles heat back to the reaction chamber to increase the conversion efficiency. The system, which was developed with $4.5 million in federal stimulus funds, has only been tested in a laboratory so far and is still far from commercial viability. If the field testing proves successful, it will be most useful in areas with plentiful sunlight and high natural gas prices.