Eco Factor: New technology uses aluminum and liquid alloy to extract hydrogen from seawater.
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a method that uses aluminum and a liquid alloy to extract hydrogen from seawater to run engines in boats and ships. The new technology, which represents a potential replacement for gasoline and diesel fuel in marine applications, helps generate hydrogen that could be fed directly to an internal combustion engine.
The new method also makes it unnecessary to store or transport hydrogen – two major challenges in using hydrogen for ships and vehicles. Because waste produced in the process could be recycled using wind turbines and solar cells, the technology also represents a new way of storing energy from solar and wind power.
Being unable to store energy from wind and solar has been a major limitation for these green technologies, as they don’t work well when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. However, converting this energy from wind and solar into fuel for hydrogen generation could solve the issue, as hydrogen can be later used to generate electricity.
The aluminum splits water by reacting with the oxygen atoms in water molecules, liberating hydrogen in the process. The waste product, aluminum hydroxide, can be recycled back to aluminum using existing commercial processes. Since aluminum is low-cost, abundant and has an energy density larger than coal, this technology can be used on a global scale and could greatly reduce the global consumption of fossil fuels.
Via: Purdue University [Press Release]
