University of Illinois Chicago engineers have helped design a new method to make hydrogen gas from water using only solar power and agricultural waste, such as manure or husks. The method reduces the energy needed to extract hydrogen from water by 600%, creating new opportunities for sustainable, climate-friendly chemical production.
The method uses a carbon-rich substance called biochar to decrease the amount of electricity needed to convert water to hydrogen. By using renewable energy sources such as solar power or wind and capturing byproducts for other uses, the process can reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero. Recently, scientists have decreased the voltage required for water splitting by introducing a carbon source to the reaction. But this process also uses coal or expensive chemicals and releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct.
The energy requirements were low enough that the researchers could power the reaction with one standard silicon solar cell generating roughly 15 milliamps of current at 0.5 volt. That's less than the amount of power produced by an AA battery. "It not only diversifies the utilization of biowaste but enables the clean production of different chemicals beyond hydrogen," said UIC graduate Nishithan Kani, co-lead author on the paper."This cheap way of making hydrogen could allow farmers to become self-sustainable for their energy needs or create new streams of revenue."
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