It will secure heating and electricity in summer and winter and will change the future of alternative energy..Swedish scientists surprise the world by developing a liquid that can store solar energy for more than ten years
It will secure heating and electricity in summer and winter, and will cause a massive revolution in alternative energy..Swedish scientists surprise the world by developing a super liquid that can store solar energy for more than ten years
In light of the increasing consumption of energy resources, which has become a threat to global reserves.
The trend was to find other sources called alternative energy, and perhaps the largest and most widespread of these projects was the solar energy projects.
However, regardless of how abundant or renewable it is, some problems surround solar energy, as there is still no long-term storage method for the energy that is generated, provided that it is inexpensive and effective.
But the recently discovered solar energy liquid must change this picture completely and forever.
The solar industry has suffered from this problem for some time. But in 2017, a series of four papers presented an interesting new solution to this problem.
Solar fuel or long-life rechargeable battery
Scientists in Sweden have developed a special liquid called solar energy fuel, which has the ability to store energy from the sun for more than ten years.
"Solar fuel is like a rechargeable battery," Jeffrey Grossman, a materials engineer at MIT, told NBC News.
But instead of using electricity, we provide it with light from the sun, so that it produces heat, according to demand.”
It is worth noting that scientists from the Swedish Chalmers University of Technology spent more than a year working to improve this discovery, which is a molecule in its liquid form.
?How does the chemical liquid work
This molecule consists of carbon and hydrogen as well as nitrogen, and when exposed to sunlight, an unusual reaction occurs, as the bonds between its atoms are rearranged.
This molecule, in turn, turns into a new, active version, called an isomer.
The energy from the sun becomes trapped between the strong chemical bonds of the isomer, and remains in the same place even when the molecule's temperature cools to room temperature.
When we need energy the energy fluid will be used
At night, for example, or during winter, this liquid is simply extracted through a catalyst that returns the molecule to its original shape, causing this energy to be released in the form of heat.
“The energy in this isomer molecule can be stored for up to 18 years,” says one of the team, a nanomaterials scientist Kasper Muth-Poulsen at Chalmers University of Technology.
And when we extract and use energy, we get much more heat than we expected.”
With a prototype power system installed on the roof of the university building, this new fluid was put to the test.
According to the researchers, the results caught the attention of many investors.
How does a renewable solar energy liquid work?
The zero-emissions renewable energy device consists of a spherical mirror with a tube in the middle, which tracks the sun's rays just like a satellite dish. This system operates in a circular fashion.
By pumping it into transparent tubes, the temperature of the liquid rises when exposed to sunlight, causing the norborneadine molecule to convert into the isomer molecule, quadriccyclane.
The liquid is then stored at room temperature with minimal energy loss.
When energy is needed, this liquid is filtered through a catalytic process using a special catalyst that converts the molecules back to their original shape, heating the liquid to up to 63°C (113°F).
Hopefully, this heat will be used in home heating systems, powering a building's water heater, dishwasher, clothes dryer, and many other uses, before it settles into the appliance on the roof again.
The researchers subjected the liquid to this cycle more than 125 times, raising and lowering the temperature without causing any significant damage to the molecule.
"We've made a lot of progress recently, and today we have a zero-emissions energy system that works all year round," Muth-Poulsen said.
It is better than Tesla batteries
According to NBC, after a series of developments on this project, the researchers claim that this liquid can trap 250 watt-hours of energy per kilogram, which is twice the electricity found in the Tesla Power Wall batteries.
But there is still a lot of room for improvement on this idea. The researchers believe that with the right exploitation of this project they can get more heat, about 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit).
“There is still a lot of work to be done,” said Muth-Poulsen.
We just got this system up and running. We now need to ensure that this project is designed optimally.”
He believes that if all goes as planned, the technology could be ready for commercial use within 10 years.
Source: websites