New MIT discoveries that may change the way we live

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
begreen

begreen

Mooderator
Staff member
Nov 18, 2005
104,700
South Puget Sound, WA
I wonder what Exxon or National Grid thinks when they hear stories like this. That is amazing technology. Flipping a molocule on and off like a switch. Amazing
 
Nobody invests until the writing on the wall is very clear. I hope that Exxon and those cats see it clearly when they see this technology and make renewable energy a priority.

MIT is also a great place to work- happy geeks are productive geeks.
 
Both of those are amazing. I especially like the carbon nano tube project because of its storage ability. I can imagine a day when you shingle your house with something like this. The overall implications of such a thing is almost incomprehensible. Have an array in your yard that charges them during the summer and stack them in a shed when charged. Winter comes pull them out and plug them into your "stove". Cool stuff.
 
Storing sunlight is the holy grail. The energy hitting the earth is huge. If this proves to be a stable, efficient and viable storage method it will be revolutionary.
 
How do you get it out? Is it sunlight or heat we're talking about?

How much space is it going to take up? Can I pass a liquid through the tubes?
 
It's heat that is stored. Release is triggered by a catalyst or a small application of heat?
 
BeGreen said:
It's heat that is stored. Release is triggered by a catalyst or a small application of heat?
Click to expand...

Thats the way I understand it. But it raises questions that weren't hit upon in the article. Does it store heat only at the rate in which it was charged (i.e - if it was charged in a 90 deg environment, does it release 90 deg energy), or can it build up a store. How MUCH can it store? Is it a one for one input/output based off of mass? Does it have a critical mass? Blah, blah blah. I want more.
 
And most importantly, will it fit in my stove?
 
Does it all come out at once? What kind of catylist? I was trying to run some numbers on specifc heat but my head started to hurt. Does it take more heat to get the heat out? That sounds like a hard reaction to control. Can I store it in the ground till Winter? Maybe like an underground cistern, and can I re-charge it via delivery truck if I run low? How about that! A truck that would deliver sunshine from the sunshine state! Maybe a truck that delivered pre-charged pellets/buckeyballs. Send a charge across them and you get heat.

Should I hold off on repalcing my AC unit with a heat pump?
 
LI+ batteries have about 460,000 Joules/kg, or about .92 kwH/kg. That translates into roughly 3400 btu/kg or about 1/5the heat capacity of cordwood, and trees grow on their own for free without a royalty fee. Depending on how I've worked the math its anywhere between 5-1 and 20-1 in favor of good old plain wood. I would need roughly 6400 cubic feet of this magical substance to heat my home for the year. No doubt there's enough heat, but there may not be enough space.

If it was cheap enough, maybe add it to drywall/building material for thermal mass.
 
There are some things I don't know well. Burning with wood is certainly one of them. You all have helped me out a great deal and I am a very pleased wood heater since.

However, there is one subject that I am familiar with: chemistry. I studied in Chemistry at University.

Let's not forget that this is a new technology. These nanotubes are in their first phase of development. Does it have the potential to change the way we think about heat and energy? From my understanding, absolutely.

The release of ebergy would certainly be a little bit difficult to control. Once the reaction of solar energy being released as heat starts, I don't see how it would end until all energy is released without another process intervening. However, this article may certainly not be telling the entire story and let's face it: do they want other countries stealing their research/technology?

If you click on the actual MIT link, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/update-energy-storage-0713.html, it details the process a bit more. It states that another step would be required to convert the solar energy to electricity such as using thermoelectric devices or producing steam to run a generator."

I am CERTAINLY going to be following the development of this technology. Thanks for the head's up BG!

Andrew
 
I have been thinking on the same lines Andrew. If one wanted to use the heat directly say for room heating, the rapid release could be an issue. The release of heat is triggered by addition of a catalyst or heat, so I would expect a chain reaction to occur with a rapid release of heat. However, one solution might be to compartmentalize the material into cells. That way the catalyst could be applied in stages with only one cell at a time releasing its potential. Another method might be to warm up a slower release fluid like a phase-change salt solution? Or, perhaps just surround it with masonry or soapstone and have that mass slowly warm the room, much like a masonry stove does.

On a larger scale, the potential for power generation is quite intriguing. One could have a solar furnace running the generators during the day and this product running them at night. That is very exciting, particularly if the storage media is cheap.
 
I agree BG. Creating different cells that are "initiated" at various intervals would certainly allow for a more controlled heat transfer.

All I can say is that if I had money, and this went to a private company, I would think about purchasing some stocks!!!!!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back