I'm not getting my hopes up too much, given the lack of great progress on the artificial leaf (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828123352.htm) idea that I posted about (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=8374.msg128399#msg128399) several years ago, but I'm not without hope, either.
"New nanomaterial can extract hydrogen fuel from seawater" |
PhysOrg (https://phys.org/news/2017-10-nanomaterial-hydrogen-fuel-seawater.html)
Quote(https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/csz/news/800/2017/newnanomater.jpg)
Artist's conceptualization of the hybrid nanomaterial photocatalyst that's able to generate solar energy and extract hydrogen gas from seawater. Image credit: University of Central Florida
It's possible to produce hydrogen to power fuel cells by extracting the gas from seawater, but the electricity required to do it makes the process costly. UCF researcher Yang Yang has come up with a new hybrid nanomaterial that harnesses solar energy and uses it to generate hydrogen from seawater more cheaply and efficiently than current materials.
The breakthrough could someday lead to a new source of the clean-burning fuel, ease demand for fossil fuels and boost the economy of Florida, where sunshine and seawater are abundant.
Yang, an assistant professor with joint appointments in the University of Central Florida's NanoScience Technology Center and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been working on solar hydrogen splitting for nearly 10 years.
It's done using a photocatalyst - a material that spurs a chemical reaction using energy from light. When he began his research, Yang focused on using solar energy to extract hydrogen from purified water. It's a much more difficulty task with seawater; the photocatalysts needed aren't durable enough to handle its biomass and corrosive salt.
As reported in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, Yang and his research team have developed a new catalyst that's able to not only harvest a much broader spectrum of light than other materials, but also stand up to the harsh conditions found in seawater.
"We've opened a new window to splitting real water, not just purified water in a lab," Yang said. "This really works well in seawater."
Yang developed a method of fabricating a photocatalyst composed of a hybrid material. Tiny nanocavities were chemically etched onto the surface of an ultrathin film of titanium dioxide, the most common photocatalyst. Those nanocavity indentations were coated with nanoflakes of molybdenum disulfide, a two-dimensional material with the thickness of a single atom.
[Continues . . . (https://phys.org/news/2017-10-nanomaterial-hydrogen-fuel-seawater.html#jCp)]
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Sounds promisaing - so long as they can get industry to help fund commercialisation.
The latest news that Trump's Anti-environment Secretary is reversing the clean energy act - making dirty ernergy cheaper for a while longer - seems to reduce the chances if this.
Pruitt, the EPA energy czar appears to be a near sighted individual when it comes to R&D efforts.
We used to produce the most inventions, the most Nobel prize winners, the most advanced astrophysics programs, and much more. With so many troglodytes in our current cabinet, we are not going to have the funding or support to continue to play in the big leagues.
Quote from: Icarus on October 10, 2017, 08:40:55 PM
Pruitt, the EPA energy czar appears to be a near sighted individual when it comes to R&D efforts.
We used to produce the most inventions, the most Nobel prize winners, the most advanced astrophysics programs, and much more. With so many troglodytes in our current cabinet, we are not going to have the funding or support to continue to play in the big leagues.
I recognise this phenomenon. The general manager once in charge of the factory I worked in had little but contempt for R&D - acckrding yo him we generated no money.
Yet he jumped up and down when the competition bought out a better instrument for a lower price. Somehow he never never worked out thst you had to spend money to do the work to find ways to save money. Governments suffer the same illness, "Do more with less!"
Fucking idiots.
Quote from: Recusant on October 10, 2017, 02:54:28 AM
I'm not getting my hopes up too much, given the lack of great progress on the artificial leaf (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828123352.htm) idea that I posted about (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=8374.msg128399#msg128399) several years ago, but I'm not without hope, either.
"New nanomaterial can extract hydrogen fuel from seawater" | PhysOrg (https://phys.org/news/2017-10-nanomaterial-hydrogen-fuel-seawater.html)
It does sound interesting... but I wonder how they'll handle the build-up of deposits and contaminants.
Not using this technology but a surplus wind generated energy》hydrogen 》electrical energy.
Orkney, it seems, often has a surplus of wind and tide generated electrical energy that it cannot export because the current cables are too small, and new cables too expensive. At the moment the can have up to 40% surplus power and have to put the brakes on some turbines. So their solution is to electrolyze water to make hydrogen that is then stored. Then, currently, they use this to generate power for docked ferries.
Hinted at was a possible scheme to actually use this to power the ferries whilst in motion. Not sure what the ferry power sources are, perhaps they are diesel-electric these days. This sounds like an ideal partnering of "spare" energy to needs that could benefit many windy places.
Also sounds like a good use for the new technology.
http://www.oref.co.uk/orkneys-energy/innovations-2/