How Scientists Created ‘Solar Rig’ To Reduce Greenhouse Effect

Solar has become a phenomenon.Quite a lot of products are built with solar technology embedded in them.Solar Fans,Fridges,wristwatches and the likes.And of course,the fact that they are renewables also makes it pollution free to use.But then, have you imagined that there is a solar fuel rig? Yes there is!

Scientists have now developed a prototype of such a device—dubbed a solar fuel rig—that uses sunlight and water to create fuel. Hydrogen fuel, which these cells make, is often produced from natural gas, and it releases carbon dioxide—the key greenhouse gas that is causing climate change.But with the production using this device,it will eliminate the greenhouse effect caused.

How was it built?

It was built as a photovoltaic-powered electrolysis device that can operate as a stand-alone platform that floats on open water. This floating PV-electrolyzer can be thought of as a “solar fuels rig” that bears some resemblance to deep-sea oil rigs, except that it would produce hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water instead of extracting petroleum from beneath the sea floor.

The process could be likened to  splitting of water into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2) fuel – as a way to convert electricity from solar photovoltaics (PVs) into storable hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen is a clean fuel  that can be delivered to fuel cells to generate electricity and heat, or burned to run a combustion engine.