Photochemical energy project promotes sustainable metallic copper development

By SERC Chile

The Solar Energy Research Center (SERC Chile), led by Jorge Yáñez, one of its principal investigators, is promoting the development of the production process for the first metallic copper produced entirely with solar energy. “Metallic copper is an essential material for the transition to clean and renewable non-conventional energies, such as solar, wind, geothermal and tidal energy, and Chile is a relevant player in providing materials and technology that allow this transition,” said the researcher.

Yáñez explained that every day, the sun's energy makes possible new and revolutionary advances to create sustainable production processes that save and care for water, in addition to harming the environment, for example, by avoiding emissions of gases or wastewater.

The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy, which we can transform into three types of energy: electrical energy, thermal energy and chemical energy. Electrical energy is produced through photovoltaic panels that are already widespread. Thermal energy is generated in solar thermal systems that take advantage of the sun's heat; and chemical energy is produced through semiconductor materials that, when illuminated, induce beneficial chemical reactions, which we call photochemical energy from the sun. A good example of photochemical energy is photosynthesis, which is used by some living organisms such as plants, algae, among others, to transform the sun's energy into chemical energy to synthesize their structures and nutrients from water and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Solar-powered copper ore oxidation

These types of energy are clean and allow us to tackle climate change caused mainly by the use of energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas: “This is why we have developed a way to harness the sun's photochemical energy to promote reactions that allow us to oxidize copper minerals and then reduce them to metallic copper, simply by illuminating copper minerals in water with a recyclable photocatalyst.”

Yáñez also indicates that in order to use and return clean water to the environment and avoid dangers to the health of people and animals, one of the most important solutions is solar water treatment, which promotes chemical reactions that clean and purify this vital element.

Regarding the process, Yáñez pointed out that “in the north of our Chile, a beautiful coincidence occurs: a great intensity of solar radiation and an abundance of minerals, such as copper, molybdenum, silver and lithium. Copper is mostly extracted with non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels. For this reason, through scientific research, we promote solar water treatment, which includes various technologies called advanced oxidation processes, based on chemical reactions that are induced by illuminating the water with sunlight. These radiations allow the disinfection and purification of waste, industrial and also domestic waters.”

In this way, the SERC Chile researcher emphasizes the importance of advancing new processes that use sunlight as an energy input and innovating to contribute to the goals of promoting the sustainability of the country and caring for the environment.