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Hydrogen is viewed as a promising alternative to fossil
fuel, but the methods used to make it either generate too much
carbon dioxide or are too expensive. Rice University researchers
have found a way to harvest hydrogen from plastic waste using a
low-emission method that could more than pay for itself.
By comparison, “green” hydrogen ⎯ produced using
renewable energy sources to split water into its two component
elements ⎯ costs roughly US$ 5 for just over two pounds. Though
cheaper, most of the nearly 100 million tons of hydrogen used
globally in 2022 was derived from fossil fuels, its production
generating roughly 12 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of
hydrogen.
The researchers exposed plastic waste samples to rapid
flash Joule, bringing their temperature up to 3100 Kelvin.
“We demonstrated that we are able to recover up to 68% of that
atomic hydrogen as gas with a 94% purity,” Kevin Wyss said.
“I hope that this work will allow for the production of clean
hydrogen from waste plastics, possibly solving major
environmental problems like plastic pollution and the greenhouse
gas-intensive production of hydrogen by steam-methane
reforming.”
Internet: <news.rice.edu> (adapted).