Possible Breakthrough In Hydrogen Energy

[tommywho70x]

from today's nerd news

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Possible Breakthrough In Hydrogen Energy |
| from the doing-what-comes-naturally dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Wednesday May 12, @01:47 (Power) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/05/12/0032205/Possible-Breakthrough-In-Hydrogen-Ener|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

destinyland writes "MIT researchers have developed a [0]method of
splitting a water molecule by emulating the way blue-green algae
separates oxygen from hydrogen. One chemistry professor called it 'an
extremely clever piece of work' that addresses 'the nanoscale
organization of the components.' Using sunlight rather than electricity
to make hydrogen from water could greatly improve the efficiency of the
process. The hydrogen can be stored for generating electricity or burned
as fuel for cars. The project is being led by the winner of a 2004
MacArthur Foundation genius grant, who uses genetically engineered
viruses as templates for nanoscale electronic components. 'Suddenly, I
wondered, what if we could assemble materials like the abalone does — but
not be limited to one element?'" Here is the [1]press release from MIT;
the [2]research paper is available only to subscribers of Nature
Nanotechnology (or those willing to part with $18).

Discuss this story at:
Slashdot Comments | Possible Breakthrough In Hydrogen Energy

Links:
0. Toward a Hydrogen Economy: Clues from Nature | h+ Magazine
1. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/belcher-water-0412.html
2. Access : Biologically templated photocatalytic nanostructures for sustained light-driven water oxidation : Nature Nanotechnology

 

[bruzz]

Interesting.......

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Really cool how plants can do this, even at very low temperature.

 

[waltky]

Germans test artificial sun...

Let there be light: German scientists test 'artificial sun'
Mar 23, 2017, Scientists in Germany flipped the switch Thursday on what's being described as "the world's largest artificial sun," a device they hope will help shed light on new ways of making climate-friendly fuels.

The giant honeycomb-like setup of 149 spotlights — officially known as "Synlight" — in Juelich, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Cologne, uses xenon short-arc lamps normally found in cinemas to simulate natural sunlight that's often in short supply in Germany at this time of year. By focusing the entire array on a single 20-by-20 centimeter (8x8 inch) spot, scientists from the German Aerospace Center, or DLR , will be able to produce the equivalent of 10,000 times the amount of solar radiation that would normally shine on the same surface.

Creating such furnace-like conditions — with temperatures of up to 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,432 Fahrenheit) — is key to testing novel ways of making hydrogen, according to Bernhard Hoffschmidt, the director of DLR's Institute for Solar Research. Many consider hydrogen to be the fuel of the future because it produces no carbon emissions when burned, meaning it doesn't add to global warming. But while hydrogen is the most common element in the universe it is rare on Earth. One way to manufacture it is to split water into its two components — the other being oxygen — using electricity in a process called electrolysis.

Researchers hope to bypass the electricity stage by tapping into the enormous amount of energy that reaches Earth in the form of light from the sun. Hoffschmidt said the dazzling display is designed to take experiments done in smaller labs to the next level, adding that once researchers have mastered hydrogen-making techniques with Synlight's 350-kilowatt array, the process could be scaled up ten-fold on the way to reaching a level fit for industry. Experts say this could take about a decade, if there is sufficient industry support.

The goal is to eventually use actual sunlight rather than the artificial light produced at the Juelich experiment, which cost 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) to build and requires as much electricity in four hours as a four-person household would use in a year. Hoffschmidt conceded that hydrogen isn't without its problems — for one thing it's incredibly volatile — but by combining it with carbon monoxide produced from renewable sources, scientists would, for example, be able to make eco-friendly kerosene for the aviation industry.

Let there be light: German scientists test 'artificial sun'

 

[there4eyeM]

Hydrogen is so obviously a solution that ignoring it only shows the intransigence of vested interests. Solar power for stationary energy, hydrogen for transportable. Clean, infinite, decentralized. What could oil companies possibly hate more?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Maybe they can engineer another virus to separate carbon from oxygen and finally put an end to global warming

 

[Old Rocks]

Maybe they can engineer another virus to separate carbon from oxygen and finally put an end to global warming

So you now admit that CO2 does cause global warming? Yes, that might be a possible solution to lowering the CO2 in the atmosphere. As long as we were not adding more.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Maybe they can engineer another virus to separate carbon from oxygen and finally put an end to global warming

So you now admit that CO2 does cause global warming? Yes, that might be a possible solution to lowering the CO2 in the atmosphere. As long as we were not adding more.

Actually I was thinking it would end like Vonnegaut's "Ice Nine"