Wow !!!! Sunlight to fuel....

Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else below.

Moderators: kiore, Blip, The_Metatron

Wow !!!! Sunlight to fuel....

#1  Postby Macdoc » Aug 30, 2015 6:00 am

Been following this for a while ....

Artificial leaf harnesses sunlight for efficient fuel production
Date: August 28, 2015
Source: California Institute of Technology
Summary:
A new solar fuel generation system, or artificial leaf, safely creates fuel from sunlight and water with record-setting efficiency and stability.



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 142940.htm

snip

A monolithically integrated, intrinsically safe, 10% efficient, solar-driven water-splitting system based on active, stable earth-abundant electrocatalysts in conjunction with tandem III–V light absorbers protected by amorphous TiO2films. Energy Environ. Sci., 2015; DOI: 10.1039/C5EE01786F
Travel photos > https://500px.com/macdoc/galleries
EO Wilson in On Human Nature wrote:
We are not compelled to believe in biological uniformity in order to affirm human freedom and dignity.
User avatar
Macdoc
THREAD STARTER
 
Posts: 17714
Age: 76
Male

Country: Canada/Australia
Australia (au)
Print view this post

Re: Wow !!!! Sunlight to fuel....

#2  Postby Macdoc » Aug 30, 2015 12:17 pm

hydrogen is not stored compressed in the way many think for vehicle storage but could be ala LPG but rather in a matrix for vehicle use... DOE has set goals for 5.5%

Hydrogen gas is touted as a possible clean alternative energy source. But without a way to store the gas safely, hydrogen-fuel cells won’t be practical. And for some applications, the stored gas must be stable for long periods of time, sometimes under extreme temperatures. Now, researchers have created an H2 storage molecule that does not decompose even at temperatures up to 150 °C (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, DOI: 10.1021/ja511766p).
Shih-Yuan Liu, an organometallic chemist at Boston College, and his colleagues work on synthesizing amine borane compounds that can store and release H2. Amine boranes have relatively high H2-storage capacities and can release the gas quickly, but generally the compounds aren’t stable at high temperatures.
The researchers synthesized the new compound, a bis-BN cyclohexane in three steps. When dissolved in tetrahydrofuran along with a ruthenium catalyst at room temperature, the compound releases hydrogen in as little as 15 minutes.
The molecule’s storage capacity is 4.7% hydrogen by weight. For use in vehicle fuel cells, the researchers would have to reengineer the compound to increase capacity, Liu says, seeing as the Department of Energy has set a 5.5 wt % target for hydrogen storage systems for 2020. But the compound may be appropriate for other applications, such as in backup generators that would store energy long term in case of a natural disaster, he says.


more
http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/web/2015/01/New-Hydrogen-Storage-Material-Take.html


more here
http://energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-storage-current-technology


there is a ton of work in this field. Most ICE motors can convert to hydrogen use easily so this gets by the fleet replacement issue.

Of course a hydrogen technoloby can provide the basis for leveling renewables power generation by providing a reliable storage of power medium.
Travel photos > https://500px.com/macdoc/galleries
EO Wilson in On Human Nature wrote:
We are not compelled to believe in biological uniformity in order to affirm human freedom and dignity.
User avatar
Macdoc
THREAD STARTER
 
Posts: 17714
Age: 76
Male

Country: Canada/Australia
Australia (au)
Print view this post

Re: Wow !!!! Sunlight to fuel....

#3  Postby laklak » Aug 30, 2015 3:14 pm

Interesting read macdoc. :thumbup:
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. - Mark Twain
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! - Chicken Little
I never go without my dinner. No one ever does, except vegetarians and people like that - Oscar Wilde
User avatar
laklak
RS Donator
 
Name: Florida Man
Posts: 20878
Age: 70
Male

Country: The Great Satan
Swaziland (sz)
Print view this post

Re: Wow !!!! Sunlight to fuel....

#4  Postby Weaver » Aug 30, 2015 3:32 pm

Impressive efficiency.
Image
Retired AiF

Cogito, Ergo Armatus Sum.
User avatar
Weaver
RS Donator
 
Posts: 20125
Age: 55
Male

Country: USA
United States (us)
Print view this post

Re: Wow !!!! Sunlight to fuel....

#5  Postby lucek » Aug 30, 2015 4:20 pm

Not the first time I've read about this technology but sounds like a good step forward. That said I have a sneaking suspicion about the 10% efficient claim. Typically when you read things like that we are talking at optimal performance and perfect conditions. But assuming it keeps near that and we take the best fuel cells we're still talking about 5-6% actually useable energy. So a 1 square meter device would take about 160 hours to produce the equivalent useable energy to 1 gallon of gasoline. Nice tic. Still waiting for the tock.
Next time a creationist says, "Were you there to watch the big bang", say "Yes we are".
"Nutrition is a balancing act during the day, not a one-shot deal from a single meal or food.":Sciwoman
User avatar
lucek
 
Posts: 3641

United States (us)
Print view this post


Return to General Science & Technology

Who is online

Users viewing this topic: No registered users and 0 guests