Air-gen device can extract energy from the air
MIT researchers have developed Air-gen technology capable of generating electricity from the air. Air-gen can become a permanent source of energy by generating electricity from water in the air.
According to the scientists, a similar process occurs as in a regular cloud during a thunderstorm. Air-gen continuously generates energy as long as the air remains moist, regardless of weather conditions or time of day.
The work of the scientists is based on previous research conducted in collaboration with Derek Lovley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Then scientists achieved continuous production of electricity from the atmosphere using protein nanowires derived from the bacteria Geobacterulferreducens. The phenomenon was called the “air generation effect”.
One of the developers, Jun Yao, said that the design is very versatile, so almost any material is suitable for it. The secret is to create many small holes in it that are less than 100 nanometers in size each. For comparison, this is less than one thousandth the thickness of a human hair. Due to the large number of such nanopores, a parameter called the “average free path length” will have to be taken into account, which is the distance that one water molecule can travel before colliding with another. If the pore size is less than 100 nm, then small water particles can still penetrate them, but they will quickly collide with the walls.
How exactly does electricity arise in the atmosphere? Being in the air, water molecules become effective carriers of electric charge, which is why lightning occurs during thunderstorms. According to the scientist, nanopores allow water to move from the upper layer of the material to the lower one, while the molecules come into contact with the upper layer more often and a charge difference arises between the two layers, which plays a crucial role in the Air-gen’s operation.
At the same time, Jun Yao recognizes that rarefied air cannot contain a significant energy density. Therefore, Air-gen does not compete with other technologies in this regard. He suggested building it into vertical surfaces in rooms to generate additional energy at no extra cost. One Air-gen generates about one microwatt of electricity, but potentially thousands of such generators can be mounted on top of each other, producing about a kilowatt of power, which is enough to run household appliances.
Air-gen will also be able to autonomously generate electricity in natural disaster areas and power environmental monitoring stations, such as weather zones. This energy source will be useful for the military during operations in harsh environments, medical facilities, agriculture, and remote telecommunications infrastructure.
