Solar Energy Storage Methods

Abstract

Solar energy can provide an abundant source of renewable energy (electrical and thermal). However, because of its unsteady nature, the storage of solar energy will become critical when a significant portion of the total energy will be provided by solar energy. In this paper, current solar energy storage technologies are reviewed. Storage methods can be classified into categories according to capacity and discharge time. New developments in solar energy storage require advances in chemical engineering and materials science. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool to evaluate energy consumption and environmental impact of renewable energy processes. LCAs of some of the storage methods are reviewed. It is important to note that, while using renewable energy sources such as solar power, storage methods based on nonrecyclable materials or methods that consume significant amounts of energy may undermine the effort to reduce energy consumption.

Energy conversion from external fluctuating signals based on asymmetric nanopores

“…This fact clearly suggests that soft matter nanostructures operating in an aqueous ionic solution can effectively be coupled to conventional electronic elements like commercial capacitors. Because of the biomimetic nature of the pore, the results have clear implications for sensing and information processing using bioelectronic interfaces and nanopore-based biosensors [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. We note in this context that the artificial nanopore used here shows electrical rectification and ionic selectivity characteristics similar to those observed in wide ion channels (e.g., the bacterial porin OmpF of Escherichia coli, a protein pore reconstituted on a planar lipid bilayer [12,13]).…”

Characterization and mechanism of MoS2/CdS composite photocatalyst used for hydrogen production from water splitting under visible light

“…Hydrogen, as an energy carrier, has attracted the world's attention for its properties of cleanness, renewability and high energetic density [1]. Hydrogen production directly from photocatalytic water splitting is one of the most effective methods to convert solar energy to chemical hydrogen energy [2].…”

Time-dependent ion selectivity in capacitive charging of porous electrodes

“…Due to the applied electric field, ions are removed from the water and are temporarily stored in the electrical double layers (EDLs) that form inside the micropores of the (typically carbon) particles, which are the major constituent of the porous electrodes. CDI has many similarities with supercapacitor battery technology [5,40,41], though (i) the electrolyte is water (mainly organic electrolytes are used in supercapacitors),…”