Hydrogen from untreated seawater
A scientific team at the University of Adelaide in Australia has developed a device that allows the production of green hydrogen from ordinary, untreated salty seawater.
Currently, hydrogen fuel is produced from natural gas or through the process of electrolysis using fresh water, but with this novel device, hydrogen can be obtained from untreated seawater using a low-cost catalyst and a commercial electrolyzer.
The electrolysis process splits water into oxygen and hydrogen using electricity. The use of seawater instead of fresh water offers the advantage of being a more sustainable hydrogen production since accessible fresh water represents only 1% of the total amount of water on our planet.
This new system would avoid actions such as erosion of materials and the formation of insoluble precipitates by adding an acidic substance on top of common catalysts.
The device has been developed by a team of researchers led by chemical engineer Shizhang Qiao from the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Although this is not the first time, we have seen a similar device, prototype devices were unveiled from China and Australia, one designed to float on the ocean surface and split hydrogen from seawater using solar energy, and another device designed to collect fresh water from humid air.
While they are prototypes, they are far from mass production or industrial-scale methods. In this case, Qiao and his colleagues believe that their modified catalysts can reach the market, as their system can deliver similar results to a commercial electrolyzer under the same low temperatures and operating conditions.
Hopefully, these devices will advance to commercializable stages and offer another clean alternative to generate sustainable and affordable fuel for many corners of the planet.
If you want to know more, you can read the article at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-023-01195-x
