Novel energy harvesting from carbon dioxide to power life on Mars

Martian colonists could use an innovative new technique to harvest energy from carbon dioxide thanks to research pioneered at Northumbria University, Newcastle.
The research proposes a new kind of engine for producing energy based on the Leidenfrost effect – a phenomenon which happens when a liquid comes into near contact with a surface much hotter than its boiling point. This effect is commonly seen in the way water appears to skitter across the surface of a hot pan, but it also applies to solid carbon dioxide, commonly known as dry ice. Blocks of dry ice are able to levitate above hot surfaces protected by a barrier of evaporated gas vapour. Northumbria's research proposes using the vapour created by this effect to power an engine. This is the first time the Leidenfrost effect has been adapted as a way of harvesting energy.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-breakthrough-energy-harvesting-power-life.html#jCp

More information: Gary G. Wells, Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, Glen McHale & Khellil Sefiane, "A sublimation heat engine," Nature Communications 6,Article number:6390 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7390