Free Hydrogen and Oxygen for the World
Posted by davidnewcomb on 04 Jan 2013 in Musings
The trouble with splitting Hydrogen and Oxygen from water is that it takes a lot of energy. This means making Hydrogen fuel cells for cars is not sustainable. Luckily those clever boffins at the Weizmann Institute lead by Prof. David Milstein have developed a brand new way to use photosynthesis to split the water.
Unlimited free Hydrogen and Oxygen, think about how that will change the world? Their will be no need for oil. Make the fuel cells small enough and we could see batteries full of water. You could refill your car from the tap or even more importantly from the rain. Imagine that! In the United Kingdom we’ed never have to stop for “water” again.
According to the Royal Institution’s 2012 Christmas Lectures the scientists have only got it to work with ultraviolet light. The catalyst metals to speed up the process may even be re-generated just by boiling it in water!
When Edison was looking for a material to put in his light bulbs, he went through hundreds of different substances looking for one which could take the current required to heat up and glow without oxidising. He tried everything from his own hair to cotton to gold before finding tungsten. There is a world wide effort to find the correct catalyst metal compound that will allow photosynthesis to work in normal day light. There are a few more variables this time but we’ll get it eventually. I can’t wait to stick it to The [Oil] Man and for the time when I never have to talk to a car mechanic.
You can read more about it here. You’d better put your chemistry head on though!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090406102555.htm
http://www.weizmann.ac.il/Organic_Chemistry/milstein.shtml
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