April 27, 2015
Discussions abound about energy challenges, but Dr. Alexis T. Bell offered profound insight on why the sun holds the answer at this year’s annual Izatt-Christensen lecture.
Bell, professor of chemical engineering, University of California at Berkeley and senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, delivered his lecture titled, “The Case for Developing Renewable Energy Sources and the Challenges Ahead,” on Thursday, March 21.
Bell was the recipient of the 2014-2015 Reed M. Izatt- James J. Christensen lectureship and award, which is sponsored by the Izatt-Christensen endownment.
Bell researches heterogeneous catalysis, and is well known for combining experimental and theoretical research methods to arrive at practical solutions. In this lecture, he described his efforts to find more sustainable and less damaging ways to produce energy.
Dr. William Hecker of BYU’s Department of Chemical Engineering introduced Bell and stated that he was a “pioneer” in his field.
“Professor Bell is the epitome of a university academician,” he said. “He understands deeply the fundamentals of knowledge as well as the industrial implications, and he does a great job of communicating that to his students.”
Bell began his lecture by describing why current energy consumption practices are not sustainable and are damaging the environment. Right now, the world’s principal sources of energy are petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Bell pointed out that each of these resources is finite and will eventually run out.
“As you come to the end of your resources, their price is going to go skyrocketing up,” he said. “Everybody’s going to be competing for limited resource.”
Further, using these energy sources produces and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Bell said current carbon dioxide emissions have already led to atmospheric damage and temperature increase, and adverse consequences will only increase.
“The glaciers are melting in the arctic, and extensive damage to coral reefs is occurring because of the acidification of the ocean,” he said.
The answer to the energy crisis, Bell said, lies in the sun. He used the rest of his lecture to describe particulars on how solar energy can be used in diverse ways to power civilization.
“I’m trying to convince you that ultimately we have to think about the sun as the sustainable energy source that will provide us at least a thousand years of energy for civilization as we know it,” he said.
Bell said that photovoltaics (using solar energy to create direct current electricity) is a viable option for charging batteries that could be used to provide power for transportation. The generation of electrical power using photovoltaics is currently expensive, but the price of this mode of power generation is declining. However, while all-electric vehicles are feasible for cars, long-haul trucks and airplanes, he said we will still need carbon-based fuels because they have much higher energy densities than batteries.
Instead of using fossil fuels, Bell recommended producing renewable fuels by converting biomass into energy. He has found success in using solar power to convert sugar cane to transportation fuels in a sustainable way that doesn’t release more carbon dioxide.
However, this process requires a hydrogen source, which creates another challenge: generating hydrogen without using fossil fuels.
“The only other option is to split water using solar energy,” Bell said. “This would be good, because it doesn’t release any carbon dioxide.”
Bell concluded that with time and development the world can shift to solar energy options creating a more sustainable future.
Mechanical engineering student Nathanael Nelson said that Bell’s lecture offered a valuable perspective from the chemistry side of things.
“I found it interesting that there were usable ways to convert the sun’s energy into usable carbon energy,” he said. “Normally, I think of photovoltaics, but other options are very interesting and applicable.”
In the end, Bell advocated developing a multi-faceted approach based on solar energy.
“Solar energy offers us an unlimited energy source,” he said. “It will go on for thousands of years, so our children, grandchildren, and nine future generations will be able to benefit from that.”