Science

Sponge-like structure generates steam using lowest concentration of solar energy yet

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A composite of graphite flakes and carbon foam is claimed to convert 85 percent of solar energy into steam
A composite of graphite flakes and carbon foam is claimed to convert 85 percent of solar energy into steam
Exfoliated graphite flakes

Researchers working at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering claim to have produced a sponge-like substance that helps convert water to steam using sunlight one-hundredth as bright as that required by conventional steam-producing solar generators. A composite of graphite flakes layered on a bed of carbon foam, the new material is reported to convert as much as 85 percent of received solar energy into steam.

In practice, the scientists say that the graphite flakes and carbon foam composite that they've created forms a porous insulating material structure that floats on water. After a number of experiments, the scientists found that the best method to maximize heat retention properties in the top layer was to exfoliate (expand a material by heating so that it increases in volume and lowers in density) graphite by cooking it in a microwave, causing it to bubble and swell. The outcome is an exceedingly permeable top layer able to maximize absorption and retention of solar energy.

The bottom layer is fashioned from carbon foam containing hundreds of tiny pockets of air that keeps the material floating on the surface of the water, while also providing insulation that prevents heat escaping to the water underneath it. Most importantly for the generation of steam, the foam is also riddled with tiny pores that allow water – through capillary action from applied heat – to make its way up through the material.

As such, when sunlight illuminates and heats the material it generates a pressure differential between the foam and the air that draws water up through the carbon and into the graphite layer. As the water soaks into the graphite, the heat focused on the material then converts the water into steam. As a result, the more intense the light striking the graphite surface, the more water is drawn up through the material, and the more steam generated.

"Steam is important for desalination, hygiene systems, and sterilization," says Hadi Ghasemi, a postdoctoral MIT student who ran the material development. "Especially in remote areas where the sun is the only source of energy, if you can generate steam with solar energy, it would be very useful."

The team also claims that the sponge-like material is able to be made from comparatively cheap materials and may be suitable for a new range of inexpensive, compact, steam-powered applications, particularly as this method offers a significant improvement over conventional solar-powered steam generation methods.

Though not in the same league as supercritical solar steam generators, the upshot of the demonstrated material and experiment shows that there is much less heat loss than that found in ordinary systems and that as steam may be generated at much lower temperatures, future solar-to-steam systems may be much cheaper and less complex to build, run, and maintain.

The research was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

Source: MIT

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14 comments
SamB
For the purpose of retained energy (say if you wanted to use that steam for heating) there is only so far you can go with the physics of the system but as a means of separation or for concentrating this is a very impressive achievement. Lets hope it is one of those developments that makes it out of the lab.
Slowburn
How long does it take for the salt and other impurities to clog the sponge when vaporizing sea water?
pATREUS
Is it easier to extract hydrogen from steam?
Paul Robertson
Are nanoparticles used in concentrated pv electricity generation?
piperTom
Nothing is said about the temperature of this alleged steam. Evaporation is one thing -- that can happen at very low temperature -- but to make steam, it must be at least 100°C (at Std pressure). What we have here is useful technology with poor terminology.
Fretting Freddy the Ferret pressing the Fret
It uses cheap, non-toxic materials, okay. How much does it cost to process it per kg or m^3?
Snert
@piperTom
If you read the article it says that the steam is created using light concentrated ten times higher than ordinary sunlight which is concentrated on, if the picture is anything to go by, a very small area...and the water is boiling!
So, I guess, it's "real" steam and not simply evaporation (which, incidentally, are two very different things)
DaveWesely
This is a longshot here, but could floating balls or pads be made of this stuff to place in the glacial bays at the poles. If more of the sunlight is used to evaporate the sea water, less will be left to warm the bay water, countering the loss of ice on the water. It would also put more moisture in the air, creating more (light reflecting) snow.
NL4M
How do you collect the steam without blocking the sunlight from hitting the surface????
Noel K Frothingham
bullrun, you're assuming that all of the sunlight is entering from one direction only. Think prisms and mirrors.