>>11992400Wait, wut? We want to _break_ the CO bonds and get energy _out_ of the reaction?
So, first we would need to break the first CO double bond to form carbon monoxide. This requires something like 530 kilojoules per mole of CO2. That's equivalent to a motor or engine outputting a quarter horsepower for an hour. Then you'd have to break the resulting carbon monoxide triple bond which has the absolute highest bond energy in nature for a neutral species at approximately 1080 kilojoules per mile of gas. So now you need an additional half a horsepower for an hour to split this bond. So after running your magical engine for an hour at an output of almost one horsepower, you get gaseous oxygen which would need to be captured, compressed, and cooled to contain it for use. I don't see any way of getting meet out. All the bond enthalpies are negative.
