Research Introduces a Machine to Imitate Plants to Generate Energy

A recent study by the researchers from Switzerland and USA has resulted in the introduction of a machine that can ape a plant in utilizing solar energy to generate fuels, which can be used in an assorted number of applications.

The specially formulated machine draws sun rays and uses it along with a metal oxide known as ceria to segregate carbon dioxide or water stored in fuels to enable easy storing and transportation. The machine unlike the normal solar panels that work only during the day time is engineered to store the generated energy for use at a later time. The Ceria or Cerium oxide utilized in the process comes with an attribute to intake oxygen during the heating up process and let it out when it cools back. In the prototype machine when water or carbon dioxide is pumped into the machine the ceria quickly separates the oxygen in the process and produces hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide. The hydrogen generated during the process can be utilized in fuel cells while the hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be mixed to generate syngas.

The prototype captures only 0.8% of the occurring solar energy, which is not competent enough for commercial usage. Most of the energy received is lost when it passes through the wall structure of the reactor or passes back through the aperture of the device. The research team is looking for ways to plug in the problems by improving the insulation and reducing the size of the aperture to achieve 19% energy generation.

Source: http://www.caltech.edu/