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China develops and launches coal-powered rocket that could change the aerospace industry. The creation of the product aims to reduce dependence on limited oil reserves in the country.
The launch of the Tianlong-2 rocket, which took place last month, marked China's space history, as it was the first kerosene-powered rocket produced from coal. In general, rockets use a specific fuel and traditional kerosene. Both can only be refined from oil of high quality in a complex extraction process. However, in the case of Tianlong-2, the kerosene extraction was done through coal liquefaction.
Rocket fuel has properties similar to aviation keroseneo
This solution of coal-powered rocket it is interesting for China, since the country has limited oil reserves and the difficulty in accessing the raw material slows down the production of rocket fuel.
At the same time, the country is the largest coal producer in the world. In this way, Beijing supported years of study and experiments by state and private agencies for the development of coal kerosene. During the process, the scientists discovered that the innovation has properties similar to aviation kerosene that derived from petroleum.
According to Du Zonggang, one of the leading researchers, to the South China Morning Post, due to its special composition and the physical and chemical properties of aerospace kerosene derived from petroleum, it would not be possible to find a suitable source of petroleum for a long time.
The breakthrough to develop the coal-powered rocket paves the way for a big leap forward in China's space industry. The 165th Research Institute of CASC (Chinese state space agency) has already announced a coal-based kerosene production line.
Coal-powered rocket features YF-102 engine
According to the deputy director of the CASC, Fu Quanjun, China should expand annual production from 5 to 30 tons by 2025. In comparison, 5 tons of coal kerosene generate enough energy to carry out 30 flights.
According to China Space News, official website of CASC, last Tuesday (23), the success of this research expands the fuel supply source for China's aerospace industry, ensures the country's energy security and lays a solid foundation for the launch of China's new generation of aircraft carrier rockets.
The Tianlong-2 coal-fired rocket has a YF-102 engine, developed by the Sixth Academy of Science and China's Aerospace Technology. Other models, such as the Long March 5, Long March 6 and Long March 7, also use this series of engines, which means that kerosene developed from coal works equally well in these vehicles.
Zero carbon space travel could become a reality
With the increase in companies interested in launching themselves into the space race, the concerns of climate researchers in relation to carbon emissions from rockets also increase, in this way, some companies that launch rockets into space are developing a clean fuel, with the objective of To preserve the environment.
In the company SpaceX, by Elon Musk, for example, just one flight of the Falcon 9 rocket emits about 336 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to returning a car around the world 70 times. That's an estimate by former NASA biologist and CEO of SynBioBeta, John Cumbers, who was interviewed by Fortune magazine.
Some green hydrogen clean fuel projects are currently being carried out for rockets, which aim to improve the sustainability of burning liquid hydrogen, which in this case is the main fuel used by NASA in its missions, and which also emits tons of CO2.
