Solar machine produces Hydrogen fuel like a plant using Ceria
Post date: Dec 23, 2010 8:34:33 PM
In the prototype, sunlight heats
a ceria cylinder which breaks down
water or carbon dioxide
The prototype, which was devised by researchers in the US and Switzerland, uses a quartz window and cavity to concentrate sunlight into a cylinder lined with cerium oxide, also known as ceria.
Ceria
has a natural propensity to exhale oxygen as it heats up and inhale it as it cools down.
If as in the prototype, hydrogen and/or water are pumped into the vessel, the ceria will rapidly strip the oxygen from them as it cools, creating hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide.
Hydrogen
produced could be used to fuel hydrogen fuel cells in cars, for example, while a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be used to create "syngas" for fuel.
Efficiency
Prototype 1% could go up to 20% conversion
source: bbc.co.uk