The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Topic started by: rangerrebew on September 03, 2018, 03:46:35 pm
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Scientists pioneer a new way to turn sunlight into fuel
September 3, 2018, University of Cambridge
The quest to find new ways to harness solar power has taken a step forward after researchers successfully split water into hydrogen and oxygen by altering the photosynthetic machinery in plants.
Photosynthesis is the process plants use to convert sunlight into energy. Oxygen is produced as by-product of photosynthesis when the water absorbed by plants is 'split'. It is one of the most important reactions on the planet because it is the source of nearly all of the world's oxygen. Hydrogen which is produced when the water is split could potentially be a green and unlimited source of renewable energy.
https://techxplore.com/news/2018-09-scientists-sunlight-fuel.html
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Scientists pioneer a new way to turn sunlight into fuel
September 3, 2018, University of Cambridge
The quest to find new ways to harness solar power has taken a step forward after researchers successfully split water into hydrogen and oxygen by altering the photosynthetic machinery in plants.
Photosynthesis is the process plants use to convert sunlight into energy. Oxygen is produced as by-product of photosynthesis when the water absorbed by plants is 'split'. It is one of the most important reactions on the planet because it is the source of nearly all of the world's oxygen. Hydrogen which is produced when the water is split could potentially be a green and unlimited source of renewable energy.
https://techxplore.com/news/2018-09-scientists-sunlight-fuel.html
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A tale from history.
As the 20th century dawned, Thomas Edison advised Henry Ford
not to pursue the latter's vision for an electric car, for two reasons:
* the then state of electronic technology could not support it and
* the cost, while unknown, would certainly be prohibitive, making
such a vehicle cost ineffective.
Now on stage is the hopes and wishes of turning sunlight into fuel;
more malarkey from the "scientific establishment" and for the very
same reasons Edison gave Ford in 1896.
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...The production of electric cars peaked in 1912. Fritchle, for example, built about 198 vehicles per year between 1909 and 1914. And while at the turn of the century electric cars had made up a good proportion of the market, advances in gasoline-powered vehicles meant that electric cars owned a smaller and smaller market share as time went on.
When Henry Ford introduced the mass-produced and gas-powered Model T in 1908, it symbolized a death blow to the electric car. By 1912, a gasoline car cost only $650 while the average electric roadster sold for $1,750. In 1912 Charles Kettering also invented the first electric automobile starer. Effectively eliminating the hand crank, Kettering’s invention made the gas-powered auto even more attractive to the same drivers who had preferred electric cars....
https://www.curbed.com/2017/9/22/16346892/electric-car-history-fritchle (https://www.curbed.com/2017/9/22/16346892/electric-car-history-fritchle)
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It is like all other things economic: 1) Can you scale it up for the mass market, and 2) Is the cost per standard unit measurable and competitive?
Ideas are great, economically competitive products are much better.
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Note the 800 lb gorilla - no mention of how much energy it took to make the hydrogen, just that it was done using an artificial photosynthesis process. It still takes more energy to break a water molecule that you get out of the hydrogen. It is a net loser and always will be.
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Like I said before. Get a battery, a gallon of water. But what will happen when you take all the hydrogen out of water?
It's not H2O anymore?
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Note the 800 lb gorilla - no mention of how much energy it took to make the hydrogen, just that it was done using an artificial photosynthesis process. It still takes more energy to break a water molecule that you get out of the hydrogen. It is a net loser and always will be.
It's not the amount of energy used but the cost of that energy.
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Scientists pioneer a new way to turn sunlight into fuel
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Au-LdtFMmN4/Vm3YHk1NdjI/AAAAAAAAeZk/ov4xrVzxQew/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/SnakeOil.jpg)
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It's not the amount of energy used but the cost of that energy.
Actually it is both. You can use the same energy to charge a battery and end up with 50% more useful energy at the drive unit,.
The hydrogen is a foolish (wasteful and expensive) method of storing and using energy.