Solar steam technology achieved an overall energy efficiency of 24 per cent, which is better than photovoltaic solar panels, which generally have an overall energy efficiency around 15 per cent.
A new technology has been devised by scientists at the Rice University, which uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy into steam. The researchers claim that their technology can even convert icy cold water directly into steam. Termed as 'solar steam', the researchers said the technology would be employed in sanitation and water-purification applications initially. This is about a lot more than electricity, said Naomi Halas, lead scientist on the project, director, LANP in an official posting. With this technology, we are beginning to think about solar thermal power in a completely different way.
Solar steam technology achieved an overall energy efficiency of 24 per cent which is better than photovoltaic solar panels, which generally have an overall energy efficiency around 15 per cent.
The researchers have said that it would take a while before the technology is deployed for generating electricity.
The technology is more efficient due to nanoparticles, which capture light and help in the conversion of sunlight into heat. These nanoparticle if dipped in water, quickly heat up when exposed to sunlight and converts water to vapour instantaneously. The researchers also said that the overall efficiency of the technology can be further increased.
We're going from heating water on the macro scale to heating it at the nanoscale, Halas said in the posting. Our particles are very small, even smaller than a wavelength of light, which means they have an extremely small surface area to dissipate heat. This intense heating allows us to generate steam locally, right at the surface of the particle, and the idea of generating steam locally is really counterintuitive.
Here's the video:
source :efu