FuelCellsWorks

Hydrogen technology steams ahead

Could the cars and laptops of the future be fuelled by old chip fat?

Engineers at the University of Leeds believe so, and are developing an energy efficient, environmentally-friendly hydrogen production system. The system enables hydrogen to be extracted from waste materials, such as vegetable oil and the glycerol by-product of bio-diesel. The aim is to create the high purity hydrogen-based fuel necessary not only for large-scale power production, but also for smaller portable fuel cells.

Dr Valerie Dupont from the School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering (SPEME) says: “I can foresee a time when the processes we are investigating could help ensure that hydrogen is a mainstream fuel.

“We are investigating the feasibility of creating a uniquely energy efficient method of hydrogen production which uses air rather than burners to heat the raw product. Our current research will improve the sustainability of this process and reduce its carbon emissions.”

A grant of over £400k has been awarded to the University by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) within a consortium of 12 institutions known as SUPERGEN Sustainable Hydrogen Delivery.

Hydrogen is widely considered to be a potential replacement for fossil fuels, but it is costly to extract. There are also often high levels of greenhouse gases emitted during conventional methods of production.

The system being developed at Leeds – known as Unmixed and Sorption-Enhanced Steam Reforming – mixes waste products with steam to release hydrogen and is potentially cheaper, cleaner and more energy efficient.

A hydrocarbon-based fuel from plant or waste sources is mixed with steam in a catalytic reactor, generating hydrogen and carbon dioxide along with excess water. The water is then easily condensed by cooling and the carbon dioxide is removed in-situ by a solid sorbent material.

Dr Dupont says: “It’s becoming increasingly necessary for scientists devising new technologies to limit the amount of carbon dioxide they release. This project takes us one step closer to these goals – once we have technologies that enable us to produce hydrogen sustainably, the infrastructure to support its use will grow.”

“We firmly believe that these advanced steam reforming processes have great potential for helping to build the hydrogen economy. Our primary focus now is to ensure the materials we rely on – both to catalyse the desired reaction and to capture the carbon dioxide – can be used over and over again without losing their efficacy.”

Further information from

Sally Cooper, Campuspr Ltd: Tel 0113 258 9880, email sally@campuspr.co.uk
or
Simon Jenkins, University of Leeds press office: Tel 0113 343 5764, email s.jenkins@leeds.ac.uk

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The world’s largest platinum miner, Anglo Platinum, on Monday unveiled a pioneering clean-energy fuel-cell power plant that uses coal-bed methane gas from group company Anglo Coal.

Journalists were flown to see the stationary plant at an Anglo Coal coal-bed methane gas exploration site near Lephalale, in Limpopo province.

The plant changes over automatically from being grid-connected to being standalone.

United Technologies’ UTC Power of the US, which supplied the 200-kW unit, has reportedly installed 270 of the containerised plants in various parts of the world, fuel cells being electrochemical devices that operate without combustion to deliver clean energy more efficiently than a combustion engine.

The coal-bed methane is reformed into hydrogen, producing both electricity and heat after the hydrogen comes into contact with oxygen in the air. Efficiencies of up to 83% can be achieved when use is made of both the electricity and the heat.

A rhodium catalyst is used.

By Dave McCombs

July 8 (Bloomberg) — Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. said General Motors Corp.’s engine technology is the “key driver” of its bid for the failed U.S. automaker’s European unit, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Beijing Automotive document addressed to GM.

Under Beijing Auto’s proposal, GM would have to “license all alternative propulsion technologies (i.e. hybrid, fuel cells)” to Opel, including the new company’s planned Chinese operations, the report said.