An international research group has developed a new method to produce hydrogen from seawater.
Fossil fuels are running out
Due to the increasing industrial production, the amount of fossil fuels is rapidly decreasing. Although there is no need to fear that oil, natural gas, or coal will suddenly run out overnight. However, there is no doubt that existing reserves will not last indefinitely.
Researchers have been working to find alternative, green energy sources for a long time. Thanks to this, a lot of new developments have come to light over the years. The only problem is that none of them can fully satisfy the huge energy demand that we now cover with fossil fuels.
Energy in seawater
However, an international research group recently achieved a breakthrough in this field. As part of an international program launched by an Australian university, scientists have developed a new method. The group led by Professor Shizhang Qiao and Assistant Professor Yao Zheng investigated seawater as a potential energy source. Scientists have succeeded in breaking down seawater into hydrogen and oxygen.
This was unprecedented, as until now only thoroughly purified, alkalized water could be broken down into its components by electrolysis. In addition to lengthy preparations, this process also required platinum or iridium, which made the process extremely difficult and expensive.
However, with the new method, they are able to break down seawater into hydrogen and oxygen molecules with nearly 100% efficiency. The process uses an inexpensive catalyst, cobalt oxide coated with chromium oxide. Since the price of this is dwarfed by that of platinum and there is no need for a lengthy cleaning process, it is extremely economical to produce hydrogen and oxygen with it. Thus, thanks to the new method, scientists can obtain an infinite amount of green energy from the seas.
However, the research group cannot sit back just yet, as the procedure has only been tested in the case of a small amount. Now the most important task is to make the process applicable on an industrial level. However, this will be far from easy, as problems such as corrosion caused by seawater will increase as volumes increase. If this problem can also be eliminated, the coastal countries will have access to virtually unlimited amounts of energy in the future.
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