Garry Golden

(Reposted from older version of my blog… 1/07)

Even though the media might emphasize a ‘crisis’ mode when it comes to the future of energy - innovation continues. And despite our geopolitical challenges - there is a lot to be thankful about when it comes to our ability to innovate around fundamental research in energy (production, conversion, storage, etc.) The race to solve our energy problems is a marathon - not a sprint. The following list is a sample of the types of innovation that might help win the marathon…

One could argue that we are only halfway through the growth curve of our industrial era of energy consumption. Growth in consumption within developed (OECD) economies is slowing and reaching its plateau - while emerging economies (i.e. India/China) are only at the beginning of their growth curve.

Sometime after 2010 Non-OECD countries will surpass their counterparts and become the majority of energy consumers in the world. And within this mix – it is electricity (not oil) which will be in most demand.

It is electrons that power our future – and I find the most intriguing innovations are disruptive to the electricity industry (not short-sighted efforts to put band-aids on the combustion engine/oil platform)

I’ve highlighted ‘Part One’ of recent (fundamental) breakthroughs especially related to electron based energy – electricity, hydrogen, and solid state lighting.

(In no particular order!)

1) Modeling H-Cluster and Role of Oxygen in Hydrogen Production
University of Illinois – Champaign [Source] – Fall 2005

Oxygen may be necessary for life, but it sure gets in the way of making hydrogen fuel cheaply and abundantly from a family of enzymes present in many microorganisms. Blocking oxygen’s path to an enzyme’s production machinery could lead to a renewable energy source that would generate only water as its waste product.

Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have opened a window by way of computer simulation that lets them see how and where hydrogen and oxygen travel to reach and exit an enzyme’s catalyst site — the H cluster — where the hydrogen is converted into energy. Because oxygen permanently binds to hydrogen in the H cluster, the production of hydrogen gas is halted.

Why this is important…

We know very little about the molecular dynamics of hydrogenase-based production and electron transfer. Protein (enzymes) will be critical to unlocking innovation in energy production. The nation that can produce the most molecular pathway engineers might win in the electron economy…!

2) Carbon Nanotubes – cut energy to extract H2 from water
North Carolina State University [Source Link]

Scientists at North Carolina State University have discovered a nanoscale method for extracting hydrogen from water that requires only half the energy of current hydrogen production methods. The researchers discovered that “defective” carbon nanotubes make it easier to “break” water molecules and extract hydrogen. Buongiorno-Nardelli’s team discovered that naturally occurring defects in the nanotubes can increase the rate of a chemical reaction, because the atoms that form the defective nanotubes are essentially “incomplete”, thus making them more reactive.

The current method for extracting hydrogen from water involves heating water molecules to 2,000 degrees Celsius. The high temperature “breaks” the molecule, and hydrogen is released. “[using]… this defective carbon material you… can reduce the energy necessary by a factor of two, you can do it at less than 1,000 degrees.”

Why this is important…
H2 is currently produced for industrial applications where conversion efficiencies are not an area of focus. There is plenty of room for innovation around hydrogen production (e.g. steam reformation, electrolysis, biological).

We must look for innovation within nanoscale science -
- Nanotubes and nanoparticles could open up a new set of strategies for hydrocarbon separate and electrolysis.
- Designing molecular pathways will be critical in developing catalysts with ideal electrocatalytic properties.

Drivers to Watch: CNT Functionalization; Electrocatalytic membranes;

3) Scientists develop new inexpensive technology to produce hydrogen
University of Montana – Trevor Douglas [Source Link]

By mimicking a protein found in nature and putting it to work, a group of scientists in Montana and New York is looking at producing alternative fuel using inexpensive sources and a unique chemical reaction. The invention is aimed at producing hydrogen as a fuel using inexpensive ingredients…

Why this is important…
We have seen several major ‘eras’ of energy production: Human/Animal; Combustion/Heat (fire, steam, I.C.E.); Motion/Kinetic (wind, water); Electromagnetism (electricity, photoelectric); Chemical power (rockets; batteries, fuel cells); Nuclear.

Biologically derived energy could be the next era of production. We are only at the beginning of understanding the molecular pathways of electron transfer in microorganisms. Bio-based energy could be centered around harnessing biological agents or through synthetically created organisms. This type of research at U-Montana could someday open the doors to a new era of energy production.

Drivers to Watch: Proteomics; Pathway engineering; Microorganism Genome projects

4) A Theoretical Breakthrough: Calculating Electron Correlations in the Hydrogen Molecule [December 2005] [Source]

University of California at Davis, universities in Spain and Belgium, and the Chemical Sciences Division of the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

When a hydrogen molecule, H2, is hit by a photon with enough energy to send both its electrons flying, the two protons left behind — the hydrogen nuclei — repel each other in a so-called Coulomb explosion. In this event, called the double photoionization of H2, the paths taken by the fleeing electrons have much to say about how close together the two nuclei were at the moment the photon struck, and just how the electrons were correlated in the molecule. Correlation means that properties of the particles like position and momentum cannot be calculated independently. When three or more particles are involved, calculations are notoriously intractable, both in classical physics and quantum mechanics. In the 16 December, 2005 issue of Science the researchers report on the first-ever complete quantum mechanical solution of a system with four charged particles.

The groundbreaking calculations were inspired by earlier experiments on the photofragmentation of deuterium (heavy hydrogen) molecules, performed at [Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) in 2003] …

Why this is important…
Computers are proving to be wonderful tools in mapping molecular/quantum dynamics. What might happen as we move into the ‘Tera’ Era of computational power on our desktop computers?

5) GE Develops Equipment That Reduces Capital Cost of Producing Hydrogen GE Global Research – Project Leader Richard Bourgeois

GE researchers have built a prototype of an apparatus that they believe could lead to a commercial machine able to produce hydrogen via electrolysis for about $3 per kilogram — a quantity roughly equivalent in energy content to a gallon of gasoline — down from today’s $8 per kilogram. According to GE improving the efficiency is not the core problem, rather it is reducing the capital cost of the equipment used to produce the hydrogen. Electrolyzers are currently made of expensive materials and require costly assembly labor. The cost of the electrolyzer is reduced by two improvements 1) By making the electrolyzers out of Noryl, that is extremely resistant to the highly alkaline potassium hydroxide and is easy to form and join, manufacturing an electrolyzer could be relatively cheap 2) The reactivity of the electrode’s surfaces is improved by spray-coating the electrodes with a proprietary nickel-based catalyst with a high surface area, thus requiring less electode material.

Why this is important…
Skeptics of hydrogen often point to the expense of hardware and energy loss. This is largely the result of a lack of resources invested in hydrogen production – not our inability to engineer systems that meet marketplace expectations. General Electric has positioned itself as a major players in the future of electricity – wind, nuclear and distributed systems.

6) A first: Hydrogen atoms manipulated below surface of palladium crystal [December 2005] Penn State University – Paul S. Weiss [Source Link]

For the first time, scientists have manipulated hydrogen atoms into stable sites beneath the surface of a palladium crystal, creating a structure predicted to be important in metal catalysts, in hydrogen storage and in fuel cells.

Observations of the effects of the resulting subsurface hydrides — hydrogen atoms with a partial negative charge — confirmed the existence of the stable sites, which had been predicted but previously had neither been deliberately assembled nor directly observed. The research was led by Paul S. Weiss, distinguished professor of chemistry and physics at Penn State.Weiss pointed out that hydrogen atoms just below the surface of the metal have been thought to be important in a number of chemical reactions. “Indirect experimental data have shown that chemically reactive hydrogen atoms were located at such sites, but there was no way to test them,” said Weiss. “This material will allow us to test the predictions and to apply data from direct observation.”

Why this is important…

Molecular Hydrogen (two protons/two protons) has been one of the most widely studied entities in the world – yet it remains ripe for potential breakthroughs in our understanding. This is the type of fundamental breakthrough needed for improving our ability to store hydrogen in solid compounds and disassociate electrons through fuel cell membranes.

Hydrogen Storage – Chemical vs Physical bonding
Two basic paths in solid storage are through metal hydrides (i.e. chemical absorption) or high surface area materials such as metal organic frameworks (MOFs) which physical adsorb hydrogen. Commercially speak metal hydrides should launch the hydrogen age – but in the long term physically based adsorption offers tremendous qualities.]

People to Watch: University of Michigan – Omar Yaghi Group

 

7) Scattering of hydrogen makes calculation easier
Leiden Theoretical chemists Ernst Pijper, Roar Olsen and Geert-Jan Kroes

The chemical reaction of hydrogen molecules (H2) with a platinum surface can be calculated much more straightforwardly than many researchers to date had thought. This is encouraging for research into hydrogen as a clean fuel and heterogeneous catalysis, which is where the reactions of molecules to metal surfaces plays a significant role. Chemists can now test theories on a broad scale which describe the interaction of molecules with metal surfaces.

Why this is important…
Electrons power the future and we are only at the beginning of developing a framework for understanding its molecular level dynamics. This research should promote new layers of understanding for hydrogen storage and production – as well as conversion in fuel cells

New Microbial Genome – of carbon eating microorganism
Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), Rockville, MD – U.S. DOE

In a paper published in the November 27th issue of PLoS Genetics, a research team led by scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) report the determination and analysis of the complete genome sequence of (Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans) a microbe (which) lives almost entirely on carbon monoxide. While consuming this normally poisonous gas, the microbe mixes it with water, producing hydrogen gas as waste.

“The findings show the continued value of microbial genome sequencing for exploring the useful capabilities of the vast realm of microbial life on Earth,” says Ari Patrinos, director of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science. DOE, which funded the study, is pursuing clean fuel technologies.

Little was known about this hydrogen-breathing organism before its genome sequence was determined. By utilizing computational analyses and comparison with the genomes of other organisms, the researchers have discovered several remarkable features. For example, the genome encodes a full suite of genes for making spores, a previously unknown talent of the microbe. Organisms that make spores have attracted great interest recently because this is a process found in the bacterium that causes anthrax. Sporulation allows anthrax to be used as a bioweapon because the spores are resistant to heat, radiation, and other treatments.

Why this is important…
Commercial applications that grow out of genome sequencing of microorganisms could someday dwarf those related to the human genome. Bacteria are the primary agents in handling global carbon cycling. What secrets might we find in discovering new species of bacteria involved in carbon processing and/or hydrogen production?

9) Membrane breakthrough for might lead to cheaper hydrogen and hydrocarbons University of Texas-Austin [Cheap Hydrogen Fuel, Technology Review, March 9, 2006]

New material brings hydrogen fuel, cheaper petrochemicals closer to reality
In the Feb. 3 edition of Science, Dr. Benny Freeman details how his laboratory designed the membrane material and tested its ability, with colleagues at Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in Research Triangle Park, N.C., to successfully separate hydrogen from carbon dioxide and other contaminant gases.

This member of a new family of membrane materials with superior gas-separating ability could lower the costs of purifying hydrogen for hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

… The membrane worked so well that it was 40 times more permeable to (better at separating out) carbon dioxide than hydrogen. The new membrane avoids this recompression step by favoring the transport of larger, polar gas molecules as a result of the polar nature of the polymer materials making up the membrane. The polar, reverse-selective materials based on ethylene oxide interact better with polar gases such as carbon dioxide than with smaller, nonpolar hydrogen gas, which is left behind in a high-pressure state. ….

Source: University of Texas at Austin

Why this is important…
The 21^st century energy industry was built largely by geologists and civil engineers. The next century of innovation will likely come from chemists, material scientists, physicists, and biotechnologists. Since hydrocarbons will likely remain the majority primary input of energy – we could benefit from technologies that help to realize the ‘greening of fossil fuels’.

10) New materials for better hydrogen traps: Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) University of Michigan - Source: Physics : November 18, 2005

Using building blocks that make up ordinary plastics, but putting them together in a whole new way, University of Michigan researchers have created a class of lightweight, rigid polymers they predict will be useful for storing hydrogen fuel.

The trick to making the new materials, called covalent organic frameworks (COFs), was coaxing them to assume predictable crystal structures—something that never had been done with rigid plastics. (… which are normally) randomly cross-link polymers,” said postdoctoral fellow Adrien Côté, who is first author on the Science paper. ….

“Once we know the structure and properties, our methodology allows us to go back and modify the COF, making it perform better or tailoring it for different applications,” said Côté.

Côté collaborated on the work with Omar Yaghi, who is the Robert W. Parry Collegiate Professor of Chemistry at U-M. Over the past 15 years, Yaghi has taken a similar approach to producing materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). On the molecular level, MOFs are scaffolds made up of metal hubs linked together with struts of organic compounds. By carefully choosing and modifying the chemical components used as hubs and struts, Yaghi and his team have been able to define the angles at which they connect and design materials with the properties they want.

Like MOFs, COFs can be made highly porous to increase their storage capacity. But unlike MOFs, COFs contain no metals. Instead, they’re made up of light elements – hydrogen, boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen – that form strong links (covalent bonds) with one another.

“Using light elements allows you to generate lightweight materials,” said Côté. “That’s very important for hydrogen fuel storage, because the lighter the material, the more economical it is to transport around in a vehicle. The strong covalent bonds also make COFs very robust materials.” Although the main thrust of the current research is creating materials for gas storage in fuel cells, Côté, Yaghi and colleagues also are exploring variations of COFs that might be suitable for use in electronic devices or catalytic applications.

Source: University of Michigan