Eliminating 60% of residential energy needs (Heating cooling and water heating) frees up a lot of energy for other uses. I could give a damn about the green thing but this is interesting.
Posted on 03/16/2019 4:44:49 AM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
A research team in Belgium says its prototype panel can produce 250 liters of hydrogen gas per day
Solar panels are multiplying on rooftops and in gardens worldwide as communities clamor for renewable electricity. But engineers in Belgium say the panels could do more than keep the lights on—they could also produce hydrogen gas on site, allowing families to heat their homes without expanding their carbon footprints.
A team at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, or KU Leuven, says it has developed a solar panel that converts sunlight directly into hydrogen using moisture in the air. The prototype takes the water vapor and splits it into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. If it scales successfully, the technology could help address a major challenge facing the hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen, unlike fossil fuels, doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions or air pollution when used in fuel-cell-powered vehicles or buildings. Yet nearly all hydrogen produced today is made using an industrial process that involves natural gas, and this ultimately pumps more emissions into the atmosphere.
A small but growing number of facilities are producing “green” hydrogen using electrolysis, which splits water molecules using electricity—ideally from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Other researchers, including the team in Belgium, are developing what’s called direct solar water-splitting technologies. These use chemical and biological components to split water directly on the solar panel, forgoing the need for large, expensive electrolysis plants.
“Finding a way to create hydrogen in some easier or more efficient way is maybe a Holy Grail quest,” says Jim Fenton, who directs the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida.
KU Leuven sits on a grassy campus in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern region of Belgium. Earlier this month, professor Johan Martens and his team at the Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis announced their prototype could produce 250 liters of hydrogen per day on average over a full year, which they claim is a world record. A family living in a well-insulated Belgian house could use about 20 of these panels to meet their power and heating needs during an entire year, they predict.
The solar panel measures 1.65 meters long—roughly the height of a kitchen refrigerator, or this reporter—and has a rated power output of about 210 watts. The system can convert 15 percent of the solar energy it receives into hydrogen, the team says. That’s a significant leap from 0.1 percent efficiency they first achieved 10 years ago. (Separately, international researchers last year said they achieved 19 percent efficiency in producing hydrogen from direct solar water splitting.) “The most difficult part is getting the water out of the air.” —Tom Bosserez, KU Leuven
However, Martens’s lab was tight-lipped about its technology. Tom Bosserez, a post-doctoral researcher, declined to disclose any specifics, citing intellectual property concerns. He says only that the lab specializes in “catalysts, membranes, and adsorbents.”
“Using our expertise in this area, we were able to develop a system that is very efficient in taking water from the air and splitting it into hydrogen by using solar energy,” Bosserez wrote in an email. Asked about some of the engineering challenges they faced during a decade of development, he says, “The most difficult part is getting the water out of the air.”
Academic papers offer scattered clues about the technology, though Bosserez says their research “goes beyond what we publish.” In recent years, the engineers have studied the efficacy of a variety of materials, including porous, multi-junction silicon solar cells with “micrometer-scale pore dimensions”; thin-film catalysts made from manganese (III) oxide; and a poly (vinyl alcohol) anion exchange membrane involving a potassium hydroxide solution and nickel-based catalysts.
Martens says generally that his team is using “cheap raw materials” in lieu of precious metals and other expensive components. “We wanted to design something sustainable that is affordable and can be used practically anywhere,” he told VRT, a public broadcasting network in Belgium.
Researchers plan to field test their prototype at a house in the rural town of Oud-Heverlee. Hydrogen would be stored in a small, underground pressure vessel during the summer months, then pumped throughout the house during the winter. If all goes according to plan, Martens says the team could install 20 panels at the house, or build a larger neighborhood system to allow other families to use the “green” hydrogen.
Fenton, of the Florida Solar Energy Center, says it’s far too early to determine whether or when hydrogen-producing solar panels could become economically viable. The technology is still in the very early development stage, and—particularly in the United States—existing heating fuels such as natural gas are relatively cheap. However, as countries work to address climate change, and as more communities install local renewable energy infrastructure like rooftop solar, he sees a potential role for these hydrogen systems.
“If the application works out, it might lend itself very nicely to generating hydrogen that I could store and use for the heating of my house, for cooking, maybe run it in my fuel-cell car,” Fenton says. “It’s these futuristic kinds of opportunities. But it’s still something we need to prepare for.”
We did that in high school chemistry.
Do I want to use hydrogen to heat my house? Do I really need to be that warm?
The problem as always is that solar power is a limited source of energy, and it takes up acreage. It can never replace fossil fuels. Same with wind. When bubble-headed politicians like AOC talk about “renewable energy”, there’s a reason they aren’t specific on what that means. There are none which will meet society’s demands.
Sunlight used to create carbohydrates out of carbon dioxide and water.
Given that hydrogen is a gas, isn’t providing a volume without a pressure meaningless?
Not at 15% efficiency you didn’t. ;-)
Direct to electric solar tops out in the low 20%’s in anything affordable and electric storage is impractical. Electrolysis is horribly inefficient. 15% direct to hydrogen is orders of magnitude more efficient than solar>electrolysis>H conversion. You will note that I did not say run your car on it. I said HVAC and water heat. If these panels are realistically priced would you not like to see a 60% drop in electric/gas bills?
But consider the fact that one gallon of gasoline contains more hydrogen than a gallon of....hydrogen!
Of course, some will object that "fossil" fuels have that awful carbon foot-print which causes global warming. Yeah, that's a hoax.
It would need to be compressed. Compression cost would be negligible. Store it in an underground tank so it is safe.
On the one hand, dry desert areas tend to get lots of sunlight.
On the other hand, cloudy wet areas have lots of accessible water in the air.
They just need to find a wet desert and they will have everything they need for theory to meet practice.
Burning hydrogen produces the green house gas water vapor
Thank you for posting this. LTBM!
Yep. Electrolysis of water is still the same whether a generator at the power plant makes the electricity or a solar panel does.
And it sure is funny that a volume of hydrogen is given here but not the pressure thereof, so no way to figure out just how many moles of hydrogen were generated.
If it is successful and cheap eventually...meaning -good for the USA -the democrats will destroy it.
re: “Hydrogen, unlike fossil fuels, doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions “
Au contraire!
WV (water vapor) is one of the BIGGEST GHG (green house gases) on the planet!!!!
Do they really provide a quarter of CA’s energy and if so, how much is it costing Californians?
I honestly don’t know, so I’m asking.
Is there ANY place for windmills and solar energy?
Again, responses appreciated in advance.
I don’t know how much energy they put out and how reliable they are on a daily basis and how much more they cost than fossil fuels.
Just wait till it's announced that electricity can be produced from the air (aether) for free as well.
Talk about true independence from utility companies!
Or is that a step too far down the conspiracy theory trail?
There is moisture in desert air.
“The humidity of the Mojave Desert changes throughout the day and night and from season to season. Average daytime relative humidity ranges from 10 percent to 30 percent. Nighttime humidity can be as high as 50 percent. Humidity is higher before and after the Mojave’s infrequent rainfalls; it tends to rise at night and during cold weather and to drop during the day and in hot weather. These temperature-associated fluctuations are largely a function of how humidity is measured.”
Not significantly more dangerous than natural gas.
I think it would be safe to assume that it is at 1 atmosphere, ie. uncompressed.
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