BOSTON – It sounds incredible, but a group of scientists has discovered a way to generate electricity from the air. The team from the United States has developed a groundbreaking device that harvests humidity in the air to generate clean power. Engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amhurst are investigating the potential for upscaling and future applications, and if the technology proves viable, it will be an epic win for the country.
Scientists are working on generating electricity from the air
Speaking about the amazing opportunity being developed, UMass Amherst reported with confidence:
“Nearly any material can be turned into a device that continuously harvests electricity from humidity in the air.”
The key reportedly lies in filling the material nanopores that are less than 100 nanometers in diameter, and researchers have named the process the “generic Air-gen effect.” In the team’s research paper, it’s explained that humidity in the air is a vast and sustainable source of energy that is continuously available, unlike solar or wind energy.
The team’s positivity stems from the revelation that by developing the new process, energy should be able to be harvested from a broad range of organic, inorganic, and biological materials.
The potential of air energy has not been explored until now because the complex process requires the development of unique material synthesis, and the approach can’t be scaled up until this process has been honed.
In more developments to do with generating electricity from the air, a startup called Vortex Bladeless has developed a new offering in wind energy harvesting technology in the form of a bladeless structure that harvests vibrational energy from its movements in the wind.
The cutting-edge electricity production process uses nanopores to create mini thunderclouds
At the core of the generic Air-gen effect are nanopores, which are nanometer-sized holes that enable water and air to pass through any material, creating a surface charge as they do so. The harvesting structure would have to be constructed from a super thin layer of material filled with nanopores smaller than 100 nanometers, which is the equivalent of one-thousandth of a human hair.
Because of the tiny size of the holes, as water molecules pass through the layer of material from the top to the bottom, they will create a charge by coming into contact with the edges of the pore. This would result in a charge imbalance such as is found in clouds, as the upper part of the layer would targeted with more charge-carrying molecules than the lower section.
Essentially, a small-scale, contained “thunderstorm” is created, which is converted into electricity the same way lighting bolts are created. Jun Yao, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UMass Amherst, said in a statement:
“The air contains an enormous amount of electricity. Think of a cloud, which is nothing more than a mass of water droplets. Each of those droplets contains a charge, and when conditions are right, the cloud can produce a lightning bolt – but we don’t know how to reliably capture electricity from lightning. What we’ve done is to create a human-built, small-scale cloud that produces electricity for us predictably and continuously so that we can harvest it.”
The harvesting process could theoretically operate without interruption under any conditions because humidity is constantly present in the air.
Is the Air-gen process viable for scaling up?
At this stage, the device is nowhere near being scalable or usable for any practical application. The researchers have only managed to produce a fraction of a volt, which is raising serious doubts about its viability for large-scale energy generation. If the tech can’t be significantly enhanced, the potential for competitive power output and cost efficiency are low.
Previous efforts to use humidity for electricity production have failed due to a reliance on costly materials with a short lifespan. However, the new approach looks to utilize materials like wood or silicon that can be impregnated with minuscule holes to serve the Air-gen process and enhance the practicality of the device.
While the potential of this particular system is being assessed, there’s another research project on the go that’s catching just as much attention. Researchers have made a breakthrough in solar electricity generation with a panel that’s capable of operating at night.
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