|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
RESEARCHJuly 14, 2008Algae-to-hydrogen system closes the loopThe most efficient way to use biomass as an energy source is a closed-loop system that recycles the byproducts of the processes that turn organic matter like plants and algae into electricity. A scheme that uses algae to generate hydrogen for fuel cells promises to close the loop by putting waste carbon dioxide and heat back into the system.The system produces biogas from algae in a reactor, then converts the biogas to hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen powers fuel cells, which generate electricity and heat. The waste carbon dioxide is pumped back to the algae to help it grow, and the waste heat is pumped to the reactor to help produce the biogas. Research paper: Combination of Biological Processes and Fuel Cells to Harvest Solar Energy Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology, August 2008 Researcher's homepage: Herbert Michael Heise Related stories and briefs: Solar and algae projects funded Pond scum ethanol Further info: BioSolarEnergy -- PDF of slides corresponding to paper Back to ERN July 14, 2008 |
Feeds News  | Blog
Energy-related books and products from Amazon.com |
© Copyright Technology Research News,
LLC 2008. All rights reserved.
