Scientists at Rice University in the United States have announced a revolutionary new technology that can use nanoparticles to directly convert solar energy into steam. The new “solar vapor†method developed by the University’s Nanophotonics Laboratory can even generate steam from ice water. Technical details were published on the November 19 issue of the American Chemical Society's Nano magazine.
The technology has a combined energy efficiency of 24%. In contrast, the integrated energy efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels is usually around 15%. The inventor of the "solar vapor" method believes that with this technology, people will think about solar power in a completely different way, but they also expect that the first use of this new technology will not be for power generation but for the health of remote areas. Facilities and water purification.
The efficiency of "solar steam" is mainly based on light-excited nanoparticles that convert sunlight into heat. When immersed in water and exposed to sunlight, nanoparticles rapidly heat up and instantly evaporate water to produce steam. Researchers said that with the continuous improvement of technology, the comprehensive energy efficiency of “solar steam†will also increase.
The nanoparticles used in the study are very small, even smaller than the wavelength of light, which means that they have a very small heat sink surface. Intense heating will generate steam locally, ie on the surface of the nanoparticles. The researchers immersed a test tube containing water containing light-excited nanoparticles in ice water to demonstrate "solar vapor." The results show that ice-water mixtures that use lenses to collect sunlight in test tubes can generate steam almost immediately.
Steam is one of the most commonly used industrial fluids in the world. About 90% of electricity is produced from steam. Steam is also used to sterilize medical waste and surgical instruments, cook food, and purify water. Most industrial steam is produced from large boilers, and the "solar steam" effect is to make steam more economical on a smaller scale.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a "solar steam" autoclave that can disinfect medical devices in areas that lack electricity. They also won funding from the Big Challenge project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to prepare an ultra-small human waste disposal system for areas without sewers or lighting.
According to the researchers, the most prominent feature of "solar steam" is its high efficiency. It does not require condensers or solar panels with several acres of area. The window of the demonstration pressure cooker is only a few square centimeters in size. Another potential use of “solar steam†is to power hybrid home appliances such as air-conditioning and heating systems. These appliances will be powered by daylight during the day and by grid power at night.
In addition, the researchers also conducted a distillation experiment, they found that the "solar steam" efficiency is more than two-and-a-half times higher than the existing distillation tower. (Feng Weidong)
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