Eco Factor: Artificial plant generates hydrogen and releases oxygen.
Energy is hard to come by, and the way our 21st century lifestyles have emerged, the scarce reserves of fuel are bound to go extinct in a few decades. Scientists and researches are battling hard to find new ways to sustain our modern lifestyle with fuel sources that are high in efficiency and low on pollution. While hydrogen fuel cells show a promising future, generating and transporting hydrogen proves no less than a nightmare for the environment. A team of four product designers – Cao Tauei, One Ruina, Chonran Li and Li Tsobin, have come up with a solution they call “E-Growing.”
Trying to bring the designs of nature into a more scientific form, they have designed a synthetic lotus plant with rubber petals and solar-paneled leaves to generate hydrogen and release oxygen into the atmosphere. The solar panels generate a small amount of current, which carries out electrolysis in water, separating oxygen and hydrogen molecules in water. While oxygen is released into the atmosphere by the plant’s stamen, hydrogen is compressed and stored in a can lined with carbon nanotubes.
The petals of the plant are designed in a way that they open up at sunrise and close at sunset. The hydrogen collecting can store hydrogen at a pressure of 2-3atm. The cans also have a relieve valve as a safety feature. The plant is designed to be planted in a pool just like an ordinary plant, allowing users to generate hydrogen for all their energy needs.
The Dark Side:
The concept shows that there is no shortage of energy sources and what’s actually needed is some innovative minds to harness sources never thought of before. However, without any details of what anode and cathode would be used to electrolyze water, we sincerely feel that the plant won’t be able to generate enough hydrogen to power a fuel-cell car or light up a home in the evening.
Via: JDF
