New Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight

[Big Fitz]

Scientists have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight, a revelation that may have the potential to bolster the renewable energy sector.

The research, published in the Physical Review Journal, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by scientists at the UK Center for Computational Sciences and the University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.

The team demonstrated that an alloy formed by a two percent substitution of antimony in gallium nitride has electrical properties that enable solar light energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as photoelectrochemical water splitting. The researchers found that when the alloy is submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the chemical bond between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules break, allowing the hydrogen to be collected to separately.

Scientists: New Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight - International Business Times

That would be awesome.

Now lets invest in this instead of high speed rails that no one will use!

19th century technology to lead the way into the future with a 21st century spin! Yeah, that'll work

 

[Ernie S.]

How much money and energy does it take to make the alloy? How much hydrogen (and, in turn, energy) will this allow us to generate over current methods and how much money (if any) will be saved at the bottom line?

Some things to consider

If the material is actually not consumed in the process, the initial cost can be amortized out to forever, so is not really that big a deal. My concern is how much surface area is required per BTU recovered. Is this practical?
If we take the average insolation of the earth's surface to be 1,366 watts per square meter per year, and recover all of that energy, we find that, based on the national average of 12,000 kilowatts per year per person, every person in the united states would require about 9 square meters of collector, or nearly 3 billion square meters, roughly the size of Rhode Island.

 

[Ernie S.]

I hear we can make lead into gold ..... when can we get started?

Actually you can. You can sell 1,500 pounds of lead for enough money to buy an ounce of gold. Simple, huh?

 

[Ernie S.]

Scientists have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight, a revelation that may have the potential to bolster the renewable energy sector.

The research, published in the Physical Review Journal, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by scientists at the UK Center for Computational Sciences and the University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.

The team demonstrated that an alloy formed by a two percent substitution of antimony in gallium nitride has electrical properties that enable solar light energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as photoelectrochemical water splitting. The researchers found that when the alloy is submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the chemical bond between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules break, allowing the hydrogen to be collected to separately.

Scientists: New Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight - International Business Times

I hope they capitalize on this.. Hydrogen fuel cells can replace gasoline if it was able to be mass produced like that.. And you wouldnt have to swap your real car for a battery operated toy...

You think Pintos were dangerous? Just wait until every vehicle on the road is carrying a tank of compressed hydrogen.

 

[chikenwing]

Scientists have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight, a revelation that may have the potential to bolster the renewable energy sector.

The research, published in the Physical Review Journal, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by scientists at the UK Center for Computational Sciences and the University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.

The team demonstrated that an alloy formed by a two percent substitution of antimony in gallium nitride has electrical properties that enable solar light energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as photoelectrochemical water splitting. The researchers found that when the alloy is submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the chemical bond between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules break, allowing the hydrogen to be collected to separately.

Scientists: New Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight - International Business Times

I hope they capitalize on this.. Hydrogen fuel cells can replace gasoline if it was able to be mass produced like that.. And you wouldnt have to swap your real car for a battery operated toy...

You think Pintos were dangerous? Just wait until every vehicle on the road is carrying a tank of compressed hydrogen.

Just like everything in this world,it has a cost,I think we could make a reasonably safe vessel, but I don't think we will see them large scale commercial,great for space exploring and ,people with deep pockets.

The answer is still some where at the atomic level,we will find it someday,but it might be a long time yet.

 

[Avatar9]

You think Pintos were dangerous? Just wait until every vehicle on the road is carrying a tank of compressed hydrogen.

That's why they're hyping things like this as a way to produce the hydrogen as it's needed.

 

[KissMy]

You think Pintos were dangerous? Just wait until every vehicle on the road is carrying a tank of compressed hydrogen.

Hydrogen Storage Alloys make it possible to store Hydrogen at low pressure.

 

[gslack]

Scientists have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight, a revelation that may have the potential to bolster the renewable energy sector.

The research, published in the Physical Review Journal, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by scientists at the UK Center for Computational Sciences and the University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.

The team demonstrated that an alloy formed by a two percent substitution of antimony in gallium nitride has electrical properties that enable solar light energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as photoelectrochemical water splitting. The researchers found that when the alloy is submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the chemical bond between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules break, allowing the hydrogen to be collected to separately.

Scientists: New Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight - International Business Times

I hope they capitalize on this.. Hydrogen fuel cells can replace gasoline if it was able to be mass produced like that.. And you wouldnt have to swap your real car for a battery operated toy...

You think Pintos were dangerous? Just wait until every vehicle on the road is carrying a tank of compressed hydrogen.

I want my cars the way they are. I think AGW theory is pure BS, but I also now with soon to be 8 billion people on this planet oil will not be enough. Hydrogen is the most abundant resource in the known galaxy and this planet. A hydrogen fuel cell system like the one used by Honda especially, will fit right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place. Their pumping stations use a pump very similar to a gas pump, and takes up no more space than a regular pump. The fuel cell is not removed from the car in the honda system allowing it to be placed farther away from the ends of the car meaning a safer hydrogen fuel cell.

This would mean, you go fill up on hydrogen and when you are low stop and refill. Just like a gas or diesel car today. The main problem has always been the cost and difficulty to make pure Hydrogen. If this tech works as they say, it could be a starting point for this...

I want the freedom of a car, I want the convenience of a gas station and a system i am familiar with. I know oil is getting scarce and will be even more so in the years to come. All other alternatives are a joke and would require a completely new system. Hydrogen fuel cells like the HONDA design and implementation would go right into the existing infrastructure...

If we have to have an alternative fuel source, it has to be hydrogen... Its exhaust is water and oxygen for god's sake... Let the algorians find a reason to cry over that...

 

[ScienceRocks]

I hope they capitalize on this.. Hydrogen fuel cells can replace gasoline if it was able to be mass produced like that.. And you wouldnt have to swap your real car for a battery operated toy...

You think Pintos were dangerous? Just wait until every vehicle on the road is carrying a tank of compressed hydrogen.

I want my cars the way they are. I think AGW theory is pure BS, but I also now with soon to be 8 billion people on this planet oil will not be enough. Hydrogen is the most abundant resource in the known galaxy and this planet. A hydrogen fuel cell system like the one used by Honda especially, will fit right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place. Their pumping stations use a pump very similar to a gas pump, and takes up no more space than a regular pump. The fuel cell is not removed from the car in the honda system allowing it to be placed farther away from the ends of the car meaning a safer hydrogen fuel cell.

This would mean, you go fill up on hydrogen and when you are low stop and refill. Just like a gas or diesel car today. The main problem has always been the cost and difficulty to make pure Hydrogen. If this tech works as they say, it could be a starting point for this...

I want the freedom of a car, I want the convenience of a gas station and a system i am familiar with. I know oil is getting scarce and will be even more so in the years to come. All other alternatives are a joke and would require a completely new system. Hydrogen fuel cells like the HONDA design and implementation would go right into the existing infrastructure...

If we have to have an alternative fuel source, it has to be hydrogen... Its exhaust is water and oxygen for god's sake... Let the algorians find a reason to cry over that...

I agree. If we could make it cheap and make it work then I could get behind it.

 

[KissMy]

I want my cars the way they are... A hydrogen fuel cell system like the one used by Honda especially, will fit right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place. Their pumping stations use a pump very similar to a gas pump, and takes up no more space than a regular pump...

All other alternatives are a joke and would require a completely new system. Hydrogen fuel cells like the HONDA design and implementation would go right into the existing infrastructure...

Hydrogen fuel cells would not go right into the existing infrastructure. They will not go right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place. It is very expensive to even retrofit gas stations to CNG, LNG, & LP. It also can't be transported to the stations in the existing fuel delivery trucks. The only fuel that went right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place was Ethanol & Bio-diesel.

It is also very expensive to retrofit existing cars & trucks to run on Hydrogen, CNG, LNG, LP or Electricity. Not so with Ethanol & Bio-diesel.

Changing the USA's fleet of 260 million automobiles, 130,000 filling stations & fuel delivery system to Hydrogen will be a major costly undertaking that will take 20+ years. So we had best get it right.

 

[gslack]

I want my cars the way they are... A hydrogen fuel cell system like the one used by Honda especially, will fit right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place. Their pumping stations use a pump very similar to a gas pump, and takes up no more space than a regular pump...

All other alternatives are a joke and would require a completely new system. Hydrogen fuel cells like the HONDA design and implementation would go right into the existing infrastructure...

Hydrogen fuel cells would not go right into the existing infrastructure. They will not go right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place. It is very expensive to even retrofit gas stations to CNG, LNG, & LP. It also can't be transported to the stations in the existing fuel delivery trucks. The only fuel that went right into the gasoline filling stations we already have in place was Ethanol & Bio-diesel.

It is also very expensive to retrofit existing cars & trucks to run on Hydrogen, CNG, LNG, LP or Electricity. Not so with Ethanol & Bio-diesel.

Changing the USA's fleet of 260 million automobiles, 130,000 filling stations & fuel delivery system to Hydrogen will be a major costly undertaking that will take 20+ years. So we had best get it right.

Thats what Honda did in California for the test vehicles. Same filling stations have gas.

By fitting into the infrastructure i never said it would be instant or cost free. Or even cheap it will take time and money but given the alternatives its the best choice.

 

[Article 15]

How about we take the TWO TRILLION DOLLARS we wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan and use that for alternative energy.

I'd like to but that two trillion is long gone, dude.

 

[Chris]

How about we take the TWO TRILLION DOLLARS we wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan and use that for alternative energy.

I'd like to but that two trillion is long gone, dude.

No shit.

Imagine if we had spent that two trillion on alternative energy instead of occuping two Iraq and Afghanistan.