Post by account_disabled on Feb 27, 2024 0:38:53 GMT -6
New direct air electrolyzer.
Green hydrogen produced by water splitting using renewable energy is the most promising energy carrier of the low-carbon economy. But hydrogen production through water electrolysis depends on a supply of very clean water, which is a scarce commodity.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne have developed a direct air electrolyzer and technique to generate hydrogen from air, decoupling production from freshwater resources and providing a new direction for a carbon-free future. The technology is called Direct Air Electrolyser (DAE) and works by draining water directly from the air before going through the standard electrolysis process.
The new direct air electrolyzer, the DAE, is like other electrolyzers; It is made from a panel of metal plates, the electrodes, which supply a current (drawn from renewable energy) for the water splitting process. But the secret is the porous medium between the plates that is soaked with a hygroscopic ionic solution, a chemical that can spontaneously absorb moisture from the air.
Electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind can be used to split water into hydrogen, which begins to be released at the cathode, and oxygen at the anode. Researchers believe this is the first Brazil Mobile Number List time pure hydrogen has been extracted directly from the air.
“It's simple, but this material likes to take water molecules from the air. When they have been taken from the air, they become liquid and are ready for electrolysis. That is the core of this invention,” said lead researcher Dr. Kevin Gang Li, senior professor of Chemical Engineering. “If you expose the device to air, it will produce hydrogen. That's why we call it Direct Air Electrolyser. Air is used to feed the device, not liquid water as electrolyzers currently do .”
“We see an area that has no groundwater and thinks it is not suitable for hydrogen production. But there is always plenty of fresh water in the air,” said Kevin Li. “Even Alice Springs, which is in part of the desert, has about % relative humidity. This is more than enough for us to produce hydrogen on site using renewable energy.”
Its so-called direct air electrolysis module can operate in a totally dry environment with a relative humidity of %, overcoming water supply problems and producing sustainable green hydrogen with minimal environmental impact.
During the experiments, the direct air electrolyzer operated for consecutive days with stable performance outside the group's laboratory building in Melbourne, with a faradaic efficiency of around %. On warm, sunny days, the prototype connected to a solar panel the size of a paperback book was able to generate cubic meters of high-purity hydrogen per day per square meter of the cathode. The group has another direct air electrolyser that has been running for months with the Faradaic efficiency of hydrogen remaining around %, without any maintenance.
The technology has a wide range of potential applications and pure hydrogen can be generated anywhere on the planet. The next steps are to conduct large-scale testing to find out how it performs in adverse conditions, including sub-zero temperatures, rain and extremely dry climates, and at a much larger size.
“We are in the process of expanding the DAE, from a five-layer stack to one square meter, then to meters, and so on. And we can simulate a dry climate in the laboratory, but that is not a real desert. So, we want to take it to Alice Springs and spend a couple of weeks, see how it goes,” says Li .
Green hydrogen produced by water splitting using renewable energy is the most promising energy carrier of the low-carbon economy. But hydrogen production through water electrolysis depends on a supply of very clean water, which is a scarce commodity.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne have developed a direct air electrolyzer and technique to generate hydrogen from air, decoupling production from freshwater resources and providing a new direction for a carbon-free future. The technology is called Direct Air Electrolyser (DAE) and works by draining water directly from the air before going through the standard electrolysis process.
The new direct air electrolyzer, the DAE, is like other electrolyzers; It is made from a panel of metal plates, the electrodes, which supply a current (drawn from renewable energy) for the water splitting process. But the secret is the porous medium between the plates that is soaked with a hygroscopic ionic solution, a chemical that can spontaneously absorb moisture from the air.
Electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind can be used to split water into hydrogen, which begins to be released at the cathode, and oxygen at the anode. Researchers believe this is the first Brazil Mobile Number List time pure hydrogen has been extracted directly from the air.
“It's simple, but this material likes to take water molecules from the air. When they have been taken from the air, they become liquid and are ready for electrolysis. That is the core of this invention,” said lead researcher Dr. Kevin Gang Li, senior professor of Chemical Engineering. “If you expose the device to air, it will produce hydrogen. That's why we call it Direct Air Electrolyser. Air is used to feed the device, not liquid water as electrolyzers currently do .”
“We see an area that has no groundwater and thinks it is not suitable for hydrogen production. But there is always plenty of fresh water in the air,” said Kevin Li. “Even Alice Springs, which is in part of the desert, has about % relative humidity. This is more than enough for us to produce hydrogen on site using renewable energy.”
Its so-called direct air electrolysis module can operate in a totally dry environment with a relative humidity of %, overcoming water supply problems and producing sustainable green hydrogen with minimal environmental impact.
During the experiments, the direct air electrolyzer operated for consecutive days with stable performance outside the group's laboratory building in Melbourne, with a faradaic efficiency of around %. On warm, sunny days, the prototype connected to a solar panel the size of a paperback book was able to generate cubic meters of high-purity hydrogen per day per square meter of the cathode. The group has another direct air electrolyser that has been running for months with the Faradaic efficiency of hydrogen remaining around %, without any maintenance.
The technology has a wide range of potential applications and pure hydrogen can be generated anywhere on the planet. The next steps are to conduct large-scale testing to find out how it performs in adverse conditions, including sub-zero temperatures, rain and extremely dry climates, and at a much larger size.
“We are in the process of expanding the DAE, from a five-layer stack to one square meter, then to meters, and so on. And we can simulate a dry climate in the laboratory, but that is not a real desert. So, we want to take it to Alice Springs and spend a couple of weeks, see how it goes,” says Li .