Yale Team Aims to Turn Sunlight Into Liquid Fuel

[ColonelCain]

Source (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7895)-DailyTech

$12.8 million DOE project seeks to convert solar energy into chemical form

A team of Yale chemists accepted the challenge from the Department of Energy search for a way to distill sunlight into liquid fuel.

The Yale researchers will join 12 other institutions in attempting to create an affordable photocatalytic cell for water cleavage with visible light power. The goal of the $12.8 million DOE Solar Energy to Chemical Fuels Initiative is to create economically viable fuels suitable for use in transportation.

If the effort should prove successful, one of the major achievements will be to "overcome the problem of day/night variation of the solar resource,” according to a statement from the Yale Department of Chemistry.

"This has been a goal of photoelectrochemistry research for more than three decades," said Yale’s project leader and department chair, Professor Gary Brudvig. "Our challenge is to improve efficiency of solar energy utilization.”

The Yale team will focus on attaching manganese complexes to titanium dioxide nanoparticles. In the process, the team plans to develop a comprehensive understanding of the molecular-level structural and dynamic principles underlying photocatalytic devices.

This sounds extremely promising. If this becomes a reality, we will have an infinatly renewable source of energy.

[triple_A]

Well good luck with that.
sounds like they're gonna need it :D

[Frank M]

sun -> plants -> sugar -> alcohol -> fuel.
Now give me my $12.8 million :D

Seriously, though, interesting research.
Storing energy has been a problem for a long time. Maybe this will bring about
some new, interesting ideas in energy storage.

[Repoman]

Cool, looking forward to see what they come up with :cool:

[Amplified]

If this becomes a reality, we will have an infinatly renewable source of energy.

Until the sun ker-splodes :D

[Revv23]

thats a good way to throw away 12.8million tax dollars.

[Spawne32]

thats a good way to throw away 12.8million tax dollars.

its either that or iraq, id rather go with the liquid sunlight :lol:

[ColonelCain]

Until the sun ker-splodes :D

Thats funny, because I thought that someone was going to say that...:rofl:

[أشرف]

One day we are going to meet God when we've gone beyond his science level. :D

[erwinz]

very nice.. :) I hope they can do it.. :) and fast :D I hope not another 3 decades.. :)

[Revv23]

its either that or iraq, id rather go with the liquid sunlight :lol:

I'd rather get my money back. Government agencies have to look for creative ways to give my money away yet taxes are still going up in my area.

[[XC] gomeler]

sun -> plants -> sugar -> alcohol -> fuel.
Now give me my $12.8 million :D

Seriously, though, interesting research.
Storing energy has been a problem for a long time. Maybe this will bring about
some new, interesting ideas in energy storage.

yup but wouldn't it rock to cut out the middleman? sun -> fuel ftw :up:

[saaya]

The Yale team will focus on attaching manganese complexes to titanium dioxide nanoparticleswhat for???

[turbox997]

This is awesome, it's about time we harness more of the Sun's free power. I think every nieghborhood should have solar panel's supplying energy to the grid, along with every home having solar panels on their shingles. Gosh, electricity shouldn't need to be as expensive as it is!! Pisses me off, my area still uses coal!!!!! (not Fairfax, I live in the Mts during the school year..)

[xoqolatl]

Solar panels and batteries are still too expensive.

[Shintai]

Solar energy -> Electrolyse->hydrogen...there is your liquid power.

[Revv23]

I don't see why we aren't on nuclear power. Seems to me france is 80% nuclear and what do you know, they have the cleanest air in the world.

[Shintai]

I don't see why we aren't on nuclear power. Seems to me france is 80% nuclear and what do you know, they have the cleanest air in the world.

Nuclear power is a relative shortterm solution. Uranium prices goes up drasticly since it gets harder and harder to mine it and demand goes up. We have plenty tho, but nuclear power aint as fun if you have to raise the price 10x on electricity.

Not to mention the hazards and waste issue.

Things like hydrogen is 100% clean, exaust is water. And you could basicly make it anywhere in the world. And the transportation issue is fixed with the hydrogen pill that cant burn etc. Solar in africa, wind in windy places like Denmark, waveeenergy at places with tidal forces (england, northen france)etc.

We just need to lose the corporate interest in keeping what we got.

[nemrod]

Nuclear power is a relative shortterm solution. Uranium prices goes up drasticly since it gets harder and harder to mine it and demand goes up. We have plenty tho, but nuclear power aint as fun if you have to raise the price 10x on electricity.

At this time, I believe nuclear is the lowest price.
But obviously, there is limits: like availibity and:


Not to mention the hazards and waste issue.


I hope they could develop fusion, this is probably far cleaner than nuclear and low cost energy.


Things like hydrogen is 100% clean, exaust is water. And you could basicly make it anywhere in the world. And the transportation issue is fixed with the hydrogen pill that cant burn etc. Solar in africa, wind in windy places like Denmark, waveeenergy at places with tidal forces (england, northen france)etc.

We just need to lose the corporate interest in keeping what we got.

I believe large quantities of hydrogen is still a problem. :shrug: But I'm not sure the aim of such project is first domestic energy but perhaps more tactical energy.

[Shintai]

At this time, I believe nuclear is the lowest price.
But obviously, there is limits: like availibity and:

It depends. Its not really cheap compared to other solutions. but in terms of "clean" it is compareable to wind energy. Nuclear plants also got military usage in many cases.

I hope they could develop fusion, this is probably far cleaner than nuclear and low cost energy.

They are working on that, EU+Japan+China+Russia+Korea+USA. They are building the biggest testfacility in France now. (After a long debate on where it should be). But fusion is not clean, the reactors would be heavily contaminated aswell and such. the main benefit of fusion is its output energy and more or less unlimited endless fuel.

I believe large quantities of hydrogen is still a problem. :shrug: But I'm not sure the aim of such project is first domestic energy but perhaps more tactical energy.

There is no issue with large amounts of hydrogen. Since it can be stored in a 100% safe way in the incarnation of the hydrogen pill. Its many times more safe than oil. There is also no flamability on "gas stations" or cars that have crashed. Its also one of the few longterm storagetypes of energy we got.

[Amplified]

thats a good way to throw away 12.8million tax dollars.

I remember hearing that the iraq conflict costs the U.S. 2bil per week... So 12.8mil is like nothing...

[Eightballrj]

Its many times more safe than oil. There is also no flamability on "gas stations" or cars that have crashed. Its also one of the few longterm storagetypes of energy we got.


It may not be flammable. But, it will surely ACT combustible if a holding cell for H2 is punctured. Talk about a totalled car. GOODBYE rear end of car(or wherever cell is placed).

[Lithan]

Yeah, I don't quite get the problem with using solar cells (instead of curning oil/coal) to power the hydrogen plants for Hydrogen cell cars. That's exactly what they are trying to do as far as I see it. Are they hoping to make it more efficient by using a different chemical process (because the whole hydrogen thing was done like twenty freaking years ago).

[Shintai]

It may not be flammable. But, it will surely ACT combustible if a holding cell for H2 is punctured. Talk about a totalled car. GOODBYE rear end of car(or wherever cell is placed).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050907102549.htm

;)

No flamable holding tank. The holdingtanks contents cant ignite.

[Origin_Unknown]

good luck with this yale

[LowRun]

One day we are going to meet God when we've gone beyond his science level. :D

That will be when he will tell us that he's sorry but have to throw the whole experiment down the drain before his boss get to realize how he messed the thing up.

I don't see why we aren't on nuclear power. Seems to me france is 80% nuclear and what do you know, they have the cleanest air in the world.

I don't know about this one, some days here in Paris it's feeling a little like it did in Mexico last time i visited.

[Revv23]

Nuclear power is a relative shortterm solution. Uranium prices goes up drasticly since it gets harder and harder to mine it and demand goes up. We have plenty tho, but nuclear power aint as fun if you have to raise the price 10x on electricity.

Not to mention the hazards and waste issue.

Things like hydrogen is 100% clean, exaust is water. And you could basicly make it anywhere in the world. And the transportation issue is fixed with the hydrogen pill that cant burn etc. Solar in africa, wind in windy places like Denmark, waveeenergy at places with tidal forces (england, northen france)etc.

We just need to lose the corporate interest in keeping what we got.

Problem with hydrogen is it takes more energy to put into a useable form then it does to make. So you are just moving the place where the losses occur from a vehicle to a factory, meanwhile you are taking losses in the conversion from one energy source to the other. Lose -Lose.

I remember hearing that the iraq conflict costs the U.S. 2bil per week... So 12.8mil is like nothing...

While we are at it, i want that money back too. Screw the iraqi people i don't want to pay to send my fellow americans over there to die. (lets not start a debate on this please, just making a statement)


I don't know about this one, some days here in Paris it's feeling a little like it did in Mexico last time i visited.

Could you be more vauge please? I am afraid I am about to get your point. :p:

[turbox997]

Problem with hydrogen is it takes more energy to put into a useable form then it does to make. So you are just moving the place where the losses occur from a vehicle to a factory, meanwhile you are taking losses in the conversion from one energy source to the other. Lose -Lose.
:p:

Precisely, It takes a lot of energy in order to get Hydrogen, and what are we using to produce the electricity for this task? Nuclear, Oil, Coal, etc...