Posted on 08/01/2008 7:52:39 PM PDT by neverdem
Washington, Aug 1 : Researchers at the MIT have found a new way to store solar power, a major breakthrough in the search to use the sun and serve the Earth's energy needs in a clean and sustainable way.
Every hour, the sun pours down enough radiation to serve the Earth's energy needs for a year. The trouble is to store that energy cheaply and use it whenever needed.
Daniel Nocera and Matthew Kanan of the Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a process that will use the sun's energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen are recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity.
The theory was known, but the splitting had been enormously expensive and grossly inefficient till Nocera and Kanan showed the way.
The key component in their process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen from water; another catalyst produces hydrogen.
The new catalyst consists of the metal cobalt, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity - whether from a solar photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source - runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.
Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.
The new catalyst works at room temperature, in water that is neither acidic nor alkaline, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement."
"This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said Nocera, professor of energy at MIT.
"Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."
Earlier electrolysers that split water with electricity and are often used industrially are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly alkaline environment.
James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.
"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain professor at Imperial College, London.
"The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem."
--- IANS
I seriously doubt that. When you check the abstract, you find that from the time the paper was submitted, June 19, 2008, to the time it was accepted, July 18, 2008, is very short for the scientific literature.
Think of this process as a battery. The electrical energy is converted into H2, which can then be converted back into electricity at convenient times. It lets you smooth out the power generation by solar and wind. Economic solar electric is the sole remaining barrier. Until we have a good "battery," economic solar was just a niche market. A good battery could make it a mass market.
No. The path is Sunlight->Electricity->Hydrogen. The hydrogen could then be used to run nightime generators (good idea) or, more dubiously, cars.
Now that's a good point. One of the biggest problems with wind is the fluctuations. If a large scale "battery" could be developed to smooth out the ups and down of these other energy sources they may actually become viable.
Then you knew the answer before you made the statement. Been guilty of that myself. I also have an engineering master's degree, plus a couple dozen extra semester hours of (mostly) engineering grad courses. Including one course in nuclear engineering, in addition to the normal required physics and math. (I love random variables, or as my instructor put it Wandom Waribles. I got an A in that math grad class, but my wife got an A+ in the non calculus based version :( )
Yes indeed I did, which cast a bit of suspicion over it for me.
I missed that part. Still, if it decreases the number of solar cells needed to make a fixed amount of hydrogen, (Or alternatively increases the efficiency of the sunlight to hydrogen process, it's a Good Thing.
I still would not want to burn the hydrogen, but rather use a fuel cell to convert it back to electricity, which overcomes the thermodynamic efficiency limits. Sure you get DC, but that's easy to convert to AC. In some cases it's done at very high voltages at the receiving end of a DC interconnect. The transmitting end already having converted the AC to DC. (DC is more efficient to transmit over power lines, it's been done for decades now. )
Actually, the peak a/c load lags the solar peak by a few hours.
Also, the electricity to run Nocera's new improved electrolysis does not have to come from solar cells. It could be used to store wind energy, as well as solar.
And the energy available from burning the hydrogen does not necessarily have to feed the electrical grid. It could also be used to power vehicles directly.
Great idea.
Too bad we need metallic cobalt and platinum to make it work.
40% of the world supply of cobalt comes from the Democratic(!) Republic of Congo. Two of the next four major suppliers are Zambia and Russia.
80% of the world supply of platinum comes from South Africa. Russia is the number two supplier.
for later
Thank you, NeverDem! This is a great news. And I’ve been a huge fan/user of solar energy for decades. I love it; and yes, wishing I could figure out how I could store the energy. Again, excellent news.
First, if you break water into oxygen and hydrogen, does that destroy water?
Second, does a fuel cell burn the oxygen and hydrogen to produce the energy that runs some kind of generator?
Another question: the article mentions the need for electrodes of cobalt and platinum.
Aren’t those exhaustible in supply?
Second question first: See comment# 30. New sources of cobalt may yet be found. Virtually all of the platinum now used as a catalyst will be recovered. It's too expensive to ignore. There will be more research for cheaper catalysts.
The real breakthrough would be for FReepers to read the article before engaging in loud expulsions of gas.
Yeah .... "only." Sheesh. Use your imagination for a moment, and you'll see more than a few likely applications.
Yes, the water is broken down to its elements, oxygen, chemical symbol O, and hydrogen, chemical symbol H. In nature two molecules of water yield two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen.
2H2O --> 2H2 + O2
In nature, you don't find single, free atoms of hydrogen and oxygen. However, they exist happily as what are called diatomic molecules. It's a chemistry observation, that's been known for ages. It's explained by their electrons behavior.
Second, does a fuel cell burn the oxygen and hydrogen to produce the energy that runs some kind of generator?
Yes, reforming the stuff back into two molecules of water and releasing the energy in those chemical bonds. Hydrogen likes to be in the oxidized state of water. Oxygen likes to be reduced state of water. In chemistry they are called reduction - oxidation, aka redox, reactions.
We have a lot more coastline to work with than the Saudis do. And, actually, when it comes to that, we have a lot more desert to pump seawater to, as well.
And, come to think of it, this is also a good way to store energy from hydroelectric plants.
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