The majority of the fuels we use nowadays are made from finite resources. As those resources are consumed, their prices significantly increase and the accessibility becomes lower, due to two main factors. First, the number of people who use them increases every year, and second, the amount of resources becomes more and more limited every year. Alternative methods have been presented, but most of them are still being studied. Even though the idea sounds feasible, there is still a lot to be researched and tested about those methods. The one I am proposing is water splitting, to use the hydrogen as an environment-friendly and renewable fuel.
When the O-H (oxygen and hydrogen) bond is broken, the reaction will yield H2 (hydrogen gas) and O2 (oxygen). The O2 will go to the atmosphere, and the H2 is stored for use. Even though it is not challenging for the H2 to be obtained, it is challenging for it to be obtained in an economically viable way. Many methods used (such as electrolysis) use energy to split the atoms, but the energy used is far more valuable than the product we’re looking for, H2, meaning that energy is being wasted as opposed to being saved.
It has been found that using sunlight and a metal-based catalyst is among the most effective methods for splitting the water components. However, even though this may sound like a specific procedure, there is still a lot to be researched. Robert Brinkmann wrote about the photodissociation of water vapor, and the escape of hydrogen in the atmosphere. His research can be applied to my project in a sense that I can reproduce it in a controlled environment, collecting the hydrogen and using a metal-based catalyst to speed up the process and make it more effective. Since talking about catalysts is also a rather broad and extensive topic, Roger Sheldon wrote about fine chemicals through heterogeneous catalysts, which will be an important source when studying more deeply catalysts and their effects.
Separating the water components is not everything that needs to be done. Transportation and storage accounts for about 50% of the work in this method. The University of Colorado has designed water-splitters powered by solar energy in the middle of the desert with relatively high efficiency. However, it is quite challenging for the hydrogen to be stored and transported in a quantity that becomes economically viable for use. Hydrogen is sold in kilograms, as oppose to volume (like gasoline and diesel). Simone Arca, Federico Rossi, and Mirko Filipponi’s paper talks about hydrogen storage, and how it can be done effectively, as well as Richard’s paper.
In my paper, I will also talk about the impact that fuels have caused in the environment, such as pollution and temperature changes. Brohan and Kennedy talk extensively about that on their “Uncertainty estimates in regional and global observed temperature changes” paper.
Works cited:
Muhich, Christopher. "Efficient Generation of H2 by Splitting Water with an Isothermal Redox Cycle." Efficient Generation of H2 by Splitting Water with an Isothermal Redox Cycle. Science, Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Brinkmann, Robert Terry. The Photodissociation of Water Vapor: Evolution of Oxygen and Escape of Hydrogen in the Earth's Atmosphere. N.p.: n.p., 1969. Print.
Ceppatelli, M., R. Bini, and V. Schettino. "From the Cover: High-pressure Photodissociation of Water as a Tool for Hydrogen Synthesis and Fundamental Chemistry." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106.28 (2009): 11454-1459. Print.
Reece, S. Y., J. A. Hamel, K. Sung, T. D. Jarvi, A. J. Esswein, J. J. H. Pijpers, and D. G. Nocera. "Wireless Solar Water Splitting Using Silicon-Based Semiconductors and Earth-Abundant Catalysts." Science 334.6056 (2011): 645-48. Print.
Brohan, P., J.J. Kennedy, I. Harris, S.F.B. Tett and P.D. Jones: "Uncertainty estimates in regional and global observed temperature changes: a new dataset from 1850". J. Geophysical Research 111, January 21, 2006.
Bates, David R., and Marcel Nicolet. "The Photochemistry Of Atmospheric Water Vapor." Journal of Geophysical Research 55.3 (1950): 301-27. Print.
Sheldon, Roger A., and Herman Van. Bekkum. Fine Chemicals through Heterogenous Catalysis. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2000. Print.
Daugherty, M. A. A Comparison of Hydrogen Vehicle Storage Options Using the EPA Urban Driving Schedule. Los Alamos, NM: Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1995. Print.
Richards, B., and G. Conibeer. "A Comparison of Hydrogen Storage Technologies for Solar-powered Stand-alone Power Supplies: A Photovoltaic System Sizing Approach."International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 32.14 (2007): 2712-718. Print.
Profio, Pietro Di, Simone Arca, Federico Rossi, and Mirko Filipponi. "Comparison of Hydrogen Hydrates with Existing Hydrogen Storage Technologies: Energetic and Economic Evaluations." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 34.22 (2009): 9173 Print
When the O-H (oxygen and hydrogen) bond is broken, the reaction will yield H2 (hydrogen gas) and O2 (oxygen). The O2 will go to the atmosphere, and the H2 is stored for use. Even though it is not challenging for the H2 to be obtained, it is challenging for it to be obtained in an economically viable way. Many methods used (such as electrolysis) use energy to split the atoms, but the energy used is far more valuable than the product we’re looking for, H2, meaning that energy is being wasted as opposed to being saved.
It has been found that using sunlight and a metal-based catalyst is among the most effective methods for splitting the water components. However, even though this may sound like a specific procedure, there is still a lot to be researched. Robert Brinkmann wrote about the photodissociation of water vapor, and the escape of hydrogen in the atmosphere. His research can be applied to my project in a sense that I can reproduce it in a controlled environment, collecting the hydrogen and using a metal-based catalyst to speed up the process and make it more effective. Since talking about catalysts is also a rather broad and extensive topic, Roger Sheldon wrote about fine chemicals through heterogeneous catalysts, which will be an important source when studying more deeply catalysts and their effects.
Separating the water components is not everything that needs to be done. Transportation and storage accounts for about 50% of the work in this method. The University of Colorado has designed water-splitters powered by solar energy in the middle of the desert with relatively high efficiency. However, it is quite challenging for the hydrogen to be stored and transported in a quantity that becomes economically viable for use. Hydrogen is sold in kilograms, as oppose to volume (like gasoline and diesel). Simone Arca, Federico Rossi, and Mirko Filipponi’s paper talks about hydrogen storage, and how it can be done effectively, as well as Richard’s paper.
In my paper, I will also talk about the impact that fuels have caused in the environment, such as pollution and temperature changes. Brohan and Kennedy talk extensively about that on their “Uncertainty estimates in regional and global observed temperature changes” paper.
Works cited:
Muhich, Christopher. "Efficient Generation of H2 by Splitting Water with an Isothermal Redox Cycle." Efficient Generation of H2 by Splitting Water with an Isothermal Redox Cycle. Science, Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Brinkmann, Robert Terry. The Photodissociation of Water Vapor: Evolution of Oxygen and Escape of Hydrogen in the Earth's Atmosphere. N.p.: n.p., 1969. Print.
Ceppatelli, M., R. Bini, and V. Schettino. "From the Cover: High-pressure Photodissociation of Water as a Tool for Hydrogen Synthesis and Fundamental Chemistry." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106.28 (2009): 11454-1459. Print.
Reece, S. Y., J. A. Hamel, K. Sung, T. D. Jarvi, A. J. Esswein, J. J. H. Pijpers, and D. G. Nocera. "Wireless Solar Water Splitting Using Silicon-Based Semiconductors and Earth-Abundant Catalysts." Science 334.6056 (2011): 645-48. Print.
Brohan, P., J.J. Kennedy, I. Harris, S.F.B. Tett and P.D. Jones: "Uncertainty estimates in regional and global observed temperature changes: a new dataset from 1850". J. Geophysical Research 111, January 21, 2006.
Bates, David R., and Marcel Nicolet. "The Photochemistry Of Atmospheric Water Vapor." Journal of Geophysical Research 55.3 (1950): 301-27. Print.
Sheldon, Roger A., and Herman Van. Bekkum. Fine Chemicals through Heterogenous Catalysis. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2000. Print.
Daugherty, M. A. A Comparison of Hydrogen Vehicle Storage Options Using the EPA Urban Driving Schedule. Los Alamos, NM: Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1995. Print.
Richards, B., and G. Conibeer. "A Comparison of Hydrogen Storage Technologies for Solar-powered Stand-alone Power Supplies: A Photovoltaic System Sizing Approach."International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 32.14 (2007): 2712-718. Print.
Profio, Pietro Di, Simone Arca, Federico Rossi, and Mirko Filipponi. "Comparison of Hydrogen Hydrates with Existing Hydrogen Storage Technologies: Energetic and Economic Evaluations." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 34.22 (2009): 9173 Print