Anne Trafton, News Office
July 31, 2008

In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn’t shine.

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today’s announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. “This is the nirvana of what we’ve been talking about for years,” said MIT’s Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. “Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon.”

Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera’s lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun’s energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

The key component in Nocera and Kanan’s new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity – whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source – runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it’s easy to set up, Nocera said. “That’s why I know this is going to work. It’s so easy to implement,” he said.

SOURCE:  MIT News

Aside from the regular trash production that you make everyday, there are lots of other things from old books, old clothes, broken down appliances, old batteries and all those kind of stuff that gets to pile up in your garage or closet or basement as the year goes by.

As this pile grows higher and higher… the temptation of having an immediate solution to your personal space problem runs into your head.

But wait!  While it’s true that it’s very easy to jam-pack all those things in a huge trash can and take it out of your house for the garbage collector to pick it up, there is, still, another option available.

Sort your garbage before taking them out.  You’d find out that there are things there that could still be salvaged.

Old clothes and old shoes for example are always welcome in shelters.  You can even contact a local representative of international organizations who provide relief aid to countries in distress or under the state of calamity.

Separate discarded batteries and other broken appliances that has mercury content because it brings harm to our environment.  There are stations who accept those kinds of things so that they could be disposed of properly. The same goes with plastic bottles and paper.

This may be a very dirty job but it helps not only you but Mother Earth as well.  What good is a clean house if your environment is thriving to survive?

It would never be late to think about where our efforts might come into play.

It may be just a simple gesture of keeping candy wrappers in your pocket until you find a trash can or plainly recycling old paper and plastic.  No task can ever be so small not to be counted.

It wouldn’t be that bad to sacrifice a little if it would mean a longer life for Mother Earth.

Throw waste properly.  Dispose of discarded batteries, light bulbs, computer monitors properly.

Learn to segregate and help in lessening the waste that we produce everyday.

Once you get that habit going in you, the rest will follow.

It all starts in you.  Who else would pay attention to things like these but us?

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