Solar Dish Produces Hydrogen and Oxygen and Heat
EPFL engineers have successfully constructed and examined a solar reactor capable of harnessing sunlight and water to produce hydrogen gas. This system not only exhibits exceptional efficiency in hydrogen generation but also effectively utilizes the byproducts of oxygen and heat.
Hydrogen has a significant role in renewable energy, one of the most efficient methods of its production involves the separation of water into its elemental components. This process, known as artificial photosynthesis, uses solar energy, precisely what the new reactor uses.
Resembling
Resembling a satellite dish in appearance, the reactor developed by EPFL operates on a comparable principle. Its expansive curved surface efficiently gathers sunlight, concentrating it onto a compact device suspended at its center. In this instance, the dish captures and intensifies solar heat approximately 800 times, directing it toward a photoelectrochemical reactor. Within this reactor, water is circulated, and solar energy is employed to separate its molecules, yielding hydrogen and oxygen.
Oxygen And Heat
In addition, the reactor efficiently captures two byproducts that are typically released during the process: oxygen and heat. Instead of being wasted, the captured oxygen holds potential applications in hospitals or industrial settings. Meanwhile, the heat is transferred through a heat exchanger and can be utilized for heating water or maintaining a building’s interior temperature.
To assess its performance across various weather conditions, the reactor underwent testing on the EPFL campus for a total of 13 days. The average solar-to-hydrogen efficiency was over 20%, resulting in the daily production of approximately 500 g (1.1 lb) of hydrogen. With this level of output, the system could potentially power 1.5 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles or fulfill half of the electricity needs of a four-person household per year.
Read the original article on NEWATLAS.
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