Carbon Sciences isn’t afraid to trumpet its own horn.
The Santa Barbara company issues press releases whenever it gets the chance, such as when it release a promotional video and when a blogger mentions it in an online posts.
Carbon Sciences says it has found a simplier way to convert CO2 from a coal power plant into gasoline
So it is hard to discern the difference between truth and marketing fiction. Nevertheless, this eager-to-jump-the-gun outfit with three employees vowed Monday to have achieved a breakthrough in converting the greenhouse gas CO2 to gasoline.
In theory, the conversion is possible. Fuels like gasoline are fundamentally hydrocarbons, so combining the oxygen from CO2 and the hydrogen from water could do the trick.
But instead of the thousands (or millions) of years it takes nature to make this conversion between layers of underground rock, Carbon Sciences claims it can accomplish the task in hours or less.
The company’s stock trades for 11 cents on the Nasdaq over-the-counter market. So it is clear Wall Street has plenty of skeptics.
Still, the possibilities are intriguing. According to a press release, Carbon Sciences says its breakthrough simplifies the necessary steps.
First, the company no longer needs a pure, or cleansed, source of CO2. The dirty emissions of a coal, or industrial, plant will do. Second, brackish water can be substituted for fresh distilled water. And finally, no longer are big, expensive stainless steel barrels a must.
The company hopes to have a commercial scale project in place in less than a year. That sounds like a tall order for a start-up that nine months ago generated only vials of methanol in its labs.
Still, Wall Street seems to be paying greater attention. Carbon Sciences stock was up 1 cent today in anticipation as the press release circulated among investors.
