Promising Advancements

Posted by Callaghan TysonMayer

Recently, engineers at California Institute of Technology made a huge discovery that will help improve fuel sources. They did so by developing a process that speeds up the recognition of new solar fuels. This means they can replace oil, coal, and other fossil fuels. New solar fuels are extremely important for the future improvement and reservation of our environment.

The new process these engineers developed involves splitting water molecules to produce hydrocarbon fuels. The energy is produced when the hydrogen atoms split from the oxygen, then are reunited. The problem is that these molecules need a solar-powered catalyst in order to split and create energy. These particular solar fuels that split water molecules are called photoanodes; the engineers at California Institute of Technology found 12 new photoanodes that can be used to speed up the reactions.

The addition of these 12 new photoanodes will create a multitude of solar fuels that can be used instead of fossil fuels. This doubles the number of materials known for having potential use for solar fuels. Using solar fuels instead of fossil fuels will create a safer and cleaner environment. This will work to slow down the damage humans are doing to the environment and help engineers continue to improve our ecological footprint.

It is important for our society, as a whole, to reduce the negative  impact humans have on the environment. The science behind our environment is complicated because it is always changing and we don't know everything about it. Discoveries like this new process for solar fuels, are detrimental to the growth of our population and this is all because of engineers like the ones at California Institute of Technology.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170306151722.htm