A few years back researchers thought that hydrogen could be extracted chemically onboard from
liquid hydrocarbons such as methanol, but those schemes did not pan out.
Not exact matches
The work suggests that frigid Titan actually resembles Earth in some key ways,
such as seasonal weather, and it also hints at the possibility that the moon holds vast underground reservoirs of
liquid hydrocarbons — a first for any other body in the solar system.
For example, on other worlds, life might form in
liquid hydrocarbons instead of water,
such as on Saturn's moon, Titan.
Titan is the only place in the solar system, besides Earth, that has large bodies of
liquid on its surface, though its seas are composed of
hydrocarbons such as methane rather than water.
When used as a source of energy to manufacture
hydrocarbons such as methane and
liquid fuels, as you point out solar panels can only do this in the daytime.
Some of those,
such as octane, are drop - in replacements for existing
liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
The least disruptive technology would replace oil - derived
hydrocarbons with
liquid hydrocarbon fuels derived from CO2, water, and a clean energy source,
such as the sun, leading to a carbon - neutral fuel cycle.
Of course, to me the ideal answer is direct solar power → Fuel,
such as methane (to replace natural gas) or
liquid hydrocarbons (to replace fossil).