Energy crisis is a well known problem for all of us. The rate we are consuming our conventional energy sources, it will not last any longer. The other alternative scientists suggested were the non-conventional sources viz sun, tide and wind. The conventional batteries and plates to store energy from sun cost a lot so we needed some economic technique to store solar energy.
Working on this, researchers are trying to replicate nature with an extraordinary attempt to generate energy with a process very similar to a plant. The photo-synthesis process in which energy gets generated from sun and water. The research is going on at Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) in the Department of Energy's Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub. JCAP is one of many solar fuels efforts that seek to bypass the traditional bio-fuel method of growing plants and then convert biomass to a transportable, liquid fuel.
The center's solar fuel generator is designed around tiny wires of silicon placed in a solution. Traditional solar cells also use silicon, which releases a flow of electrons, or electricity, when hit by light. Using nanotechnology, the design calls for rods of silicon "microwires," which allows the material to absorb more light. Rather than only create electricity, these fibers are treated with a catalyst to use the sun's energy for fuel production. A catalyst can react with water to produce hydrogen gas, which can be used as a fuel. A longer-term goal is to discover catalysts that use carbon dioxide from the air in the production of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel such as methanol.
This design intentionally copies the process of photosynthesis, where leaves split water and use carbon dioxide from the air to make sugars. But researchers are seeking to greatly increase the efficiency of converting sunlight to stored energy. Plants spend much of the sun's energy on growing and they store very little.
Working on this, researchers are trying to replicate nature with an extraordinary attempt to generate energy with a process very similar to a plant. The photo-synthesis process in which energy gets generated from sun and water. The research is going on at Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) in the Department of Energy's Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub. JCAP is one of many solar fuels efforts that seek to bypass the traditional bio-fuel method of growing plants and then convert biomass to a transportable, liquid fuel.
The center's solar fuel generator is designed around tiny wires of silicon placed in a solution. Traditional solar cells also use silicon, which releases a flow of electrons, or electricity, when hit by light. Using nanotechnology, the design calls for rods of silicon "microwires," which allows the material to absorb more light. Rather than only create electricity, these fibers are treated with a catalyst to use the sun's energy for fuel production. A catalyst can react with water to produce hydrogen gas, which can be used as a fuel. A longer-term goal is to discover catalysts that use carbon dioxide from the air in the production of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel such as methanol.
This design intentionally copies the process of photosynthesis, where leaves split water and use carbon dioxide from the air to make sugars. But researchers are seeking to greatly increase the efficiency of converting sunlight to stored energy. Plants spend much of the sun's energy on growing and they store very little.
Nice.. :)
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