> It probably makes more sense to just synthesize longer hydrocarbons.
Sorry, ignorance on my end is showing again; wouldn't a longer hydrocarbon still emit CO2 as a by-product since carbons are part of its makeup? Or does a longer hydrocarbon mean that there's a higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratio and therefore the pollution is less horrible?
Yes, but to make the hydro-carbon, you need to put carbon in. If you extract that from air you’re carbon-neutral.
You can also be carbon-neutral by making that cycle larger: extract carbon from trees, create fuel, burn it, and let new trees you planted convert the CO2 back into wood.
Sorry, ignorance on my end is showing again; wouldn't a longer hydrocarbon still emit CO2 as a by-product since carbons are part of its makeup? Or does a longer hydrocarbon mean that there's a higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratio and therefore the pollution is less horrible?