{"id":7934,"date":"2024-06-25T17:39:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T00:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wikisolver.com\/?p=7934"},"modified":"2024-06-25T17:39:21","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T00:39:21","slug":"how-much-solar-to-produce-611800000000-kg-of-hydrogen-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/how-much-solar-to-produce-611800000000-kg-of-hydrogen-year\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Solar to Produce 611,800,000,000 kg of Hydrogen\/Year?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given: a recent breakthrough of researchers at the University of Adelaide<\/a> has yielded an electrolysis process that is 100% efficient with a catalyst that prevents the anode and cathode from decay; the amount of hydrogen desired is 611,800,000,000 kg per year; the temperature of the seawater is 60 degrees C; the salinity of the water is 35 parts per thousand; the voltage used in the process is 1.87 V; the intensity of sunlight is 7.5 peak solar hours per day. Assuming the above parameters are correct, how much solar energy would be required during the time frame specified?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s calculate the solar energy required, given the assumption of 100% electrolysis efficiency:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy for Electrolysis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The theoretical energy calculation is 1.095 x 1017<\/sup> Joules.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Hours of sunlight per year: 7.5 hours\/day * 365 days\/year = 2737.5 hours\/year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Seconds of sunlight per year: 2737.5 hours\/year * 3600 seconds\/hour = 9.86 x 106<\/sup> seconds\/year<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Required Solar Power<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Power (Watts) = Energy (Joules) \/ Time (seconds)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Power = 1.095 x 1017<\/sup> J \/ 9.86 x 106<\/sup> s = 1.11 x 1010<\/sup> Watts = 11.1 Gigawatts (GW)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      A solar power plant with a capacity of approximately 11.1 GW would be needed to generate enough energy to produce 611,800,000,000 kg of hydrogen per year, assuming 100% electrolysis efficiency and the given parameters.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Important notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • 100% Efficiency: While the breakthrough claims 100% efficiency for the electrolysis process itself, it\u2019s crucial to remember that there will still be losses in other parts of the system (e.g., capturing sunlight, converting electricity, etc.).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Real-World Conditions: Solar power output varies depending on weather, time of day, and location. The calculated power requirement assumes constant peak sunlight, which is not realistic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Land Use: a 11.1 GW solar power plant would require a significant land area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Other Factors: This calculation doesn\u2019t account for energy storage, transportation of hydrogen, or potential maintenance requirements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        In conclusion, even with the remarkable breakthrough of 100% efficient electrolysis, producing such a massive amount of hydrogen would still necessitate an enormous solar energy infrastructure and careful consideration of real-world factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Question: Given: a recent breakthrough of researchers at the University of Adelaide has yielded an electrolysis process that is 100% efficient with a catalyst that prevents the anode and cathode from decay; the amount of hydrogen desired is 611,800,000,000 kg per year; the temperature of the seawater is 60 degrees C; the salinity of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[87,48,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-calculations","category-hydrogen","category-water-splitters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7934\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}