2023-10-17 07:15:00
A new way of produce hydrogen from the sun promises to revolutionize the sector. Developed by engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the project manages to use sunlight through a system of reactors to efficiently generate thermochemical hydrogen.
In general, the method can separate water and produce clean fuel. In this way, it might be used to power trucks, long-range planes and even ships. The best part: everything would be carried out without emitting greenhouse effect phases.
Economy and market
10 Ago
Tech
07 Jul
Currently available thermochemical hydrogen projects have an efficiency restricted to 7%, even though they are high-cost equipment. Meanwhile, the team responsible for the new method claims that it can use up to 40% of the sun’s heat and generate an even greater amount of hydrogen.
With this, the system would have a reduction in its cost and the fuel would become more accessible, contributing to the decarbonization of the transport industry.
How it works?
The MIT project, in principle, operates using a reactor system that looks like a box train. It moves along a circular track, which is around the existing solar heat source. Furthermore, each reactor has a metal that undergoes a reversible thermochemical reaction. From there, three phases occur:
Water is exposed to the metal in the form of steam and removes the oxygen, leaving only the hydrogen The metal is heated to reverse the rusting process Without oxygen, the metal is cooled and exposed once more to the steam
This procedure can be repeated hundreds of times. Not only that, but there is a second set of reactors that circulate around the first, moving in the opposite direction and operating at a reduced temperature. In this case, it works to remove oxygen from the internal reactors and thus eliminates the use of mechanical pumps.
The result of this is the possibility for the system to function continuously, generating both hydrogen and oxygen. The next step, then, is to build a prototype of the system and test it in solar energy installations. With its implementation, the system might be modular and allow the addition of more reactors to increase hydrogen production.
This new development is expected to change the energy future and allow fuel to be produced 24 hours a day. Finally, check out the possibility of hydrogen-powered cars being exempt from IPVA in São Paulo and details regarding the opening of the first filling station using fuel made from ethanol.
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