October 17, 2018 5:12 am
The title of this post is the same as that as this article on Global News Wire.
It looks to me that a company call HyperSolar is working on producing hydrogen direct from solar power from any water source.
This is technology to watch. Pending full development, you can always watch this video on the HyperSolar web site.
Posted by AnonW
Categories: World
Tags: Hydrogen, HyperSolar, Innovation, Solar Power
Mobile Site | Full Site
Get a free blog at WordPress.com Theme: WordPress Mobile Edition by Alex King.
If the cost of cracking H2O to obtain hydrogen can be brought down then It’s a no-brainer. The oxygen released from the cracking can be bottled for medical use etc. The exhaust is water which can be cracked etc etc.
Ultimately, using hydrogen in road vehicles has to be considered in the drive to reduce carbon emissions and nitrous-oxide emissions.
By mauricegreed on October 17, 2018 at 2:54 pm
I have long thought that hydrogen is best generated from water not hydrocarbons. This is a good way of storing electrical power, but requires an efficient way of doing the conversion and storing it for transport to users and in vehicles. Liquefying can be done by operating the plant at a high pressure and there is a lot about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolysis_of_water
Ideally, the conversion needs to be done where there is a green supply of electricity (near hydo-electric power plant, or using PVs in an area with a lot of sunny hours (Africa? Spain?).
The process also produces oxygen, which also has a financial value.
By John Wright on October 17, 2018 at 2:56 pm
I used to work in one of ICI’s chlorine cell rooms at Runcorn, where brine is split into hydrogen, chlorine and a few other chemicals.The process is a sophisticated electrolysis and the brine is produced from the salt boreholes in Cheshire.
The plant is now owned by INEOS and they make a lot of chlorine, which is a feedstock for various chemical processes. The hydrogen is not particularly wanted and they are thinking about creating a main around Liverpool and Manchester to high energy users. They are also thinking about blending it with natural gas for domestic supply. After all natural gas contains a proportion of hydrogen and provided this level is low, it is allowed.
The Runcorn plant uses a lot of electricity and I suspect, that at night, they get a good deal for surplus wind power from all the massive wind farms in Liverpool Bay.
I don’t think that much oxygen is produced by electrolysing brine.
INEOS have the good fortune to have lots of salt and wind power in the same place. In the 1960s, I was told that Cheshire has enough salt to last at the current rate of extraction for 9000 years.
Hydrogen is a fuel that will last a long time.
By AnonW on October 17, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Interesting. Seems to be a hot stock even though they haven’t even produced a demo installation yet. As you say, something to watch.
By Peter Robins on October 20, 2018 at 6:38 am
The more I think about this technology, the more applications I see.
By AnonW on October 20, 2018 at 6:54 am
Even if this particular company doesn’t come up with something usable at scale, I feel sure that somebody somewhere will. The problem with solar at the moment is how to store the energy generated. Batteries are far too expensive ATM for most small-scale uses, like households. If you have a low-cost way of converting to a fuel which can be stored, then it transforms the cost-effectiveness of renewables.
By Peter Robins on October 20, 2018 at 7:06 am