The Hindu : Kerala News : Renewable energy sector to benefit from nanotechnology

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Thursday, Mar 13, 2008
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Renewable energy sector to benefit from nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is expected to provide exciting opportunities in various spheres. The renewable energy segment is one of the application areas. Solar energy can be made available in a more viable manner by means of nanotechnology, experts say.

The efficiency and viability of renewable energy sources can be improved by employing the technology, G.M. Pillai, Director-General of the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE), says.

Beneficiary segments

Solar energy and bio-energy will be among the beneficiary segments, he says. Mr. Pillai has explained the underlying principles in a publication ‘Green Energy,’ brought out by WISE.

Photovoltaic cells developed in the Sixties had an efficiency of only 6 per cent. Conventional photovoltaic devices use the photoelectric effect. A silicon semi-conductor is used in the process. But amorphous silicon cells face the problem of photo instability that can result in a loss of over 50 per cent of the output, he says.

Nanotechnology helps to fine-tune amorphous silicon’s ‘bandgap’ and crystalline structure, thereby increasing its photo stability and resultant efficiency. Similarly, methods of production of hydrogen using thermo chemical techniques can be made more efficient using nanocatalysts and nanoscale membranes.

More efficient

Bio-ethanol technologies, particularly those that produce hydrogen from bio-ethanol through a steam reforming process, are also made more efficient through the use of nanocatalysts. Bio-diesel production may be enhanced using nanotechnology, he says.

“As things stand, there is reason to believe that some of the limitations pertaining to renewable energy technologies can be overcome in the not-too distant future with the help of nanotechnology. If man, in his search for progress, has tampered with the environment, causing ecological disasters, I am sure his ingenuity will also find ways to tackle the problem,” he says.

R. Ramabhadran Pillai

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