This New Technique Split Hydrogen From Seawater For Clean Energy

Dhir Acharya - Nov 17, 2019

Scientists are working on hydrogen to achieve higher efficiency in producing clean energy, but can we can ever use it on a large scale?

Scientists are working on hydrogen to achieve higher efficiency in producing clean energy; however, some wonder if we can ever use it on a large scale at an affordable cost. And it’s partly because we have limited access to hydrogen.

Now, that problem can be solved as a study shows how we can extract it from seawater through the use of an electric current. According to the study, water-splitting technologies have existed for a long time for generating hydrogen from freshwater, but it’s challenging to get the same result from seawater.

Researchers from the University of Houston carried out the study. In the study, the research team used electrolysis and a device that was made of non-noble metal nitrides to apply electric currents to seawater. While splitting water, the device will free compounds such as sodium, calcium, and chlorine in the water as you are trying to obtain the hydrogen. And the compounds will attach themselves to the device, which will become unusable.

To overcome this, the team had to ensure a high voltage for the electrode so that they could separate the hydrogen, but the voltage mustn’t be high enough to release such compounds. This means the voltage has to be between 1.23 and 1.73 volts.

This task is challenging but the research team could do this successfully and consistently, they believe this method could change the production of hydrogen as the Earth has much more seawater than freshwater.

According to physics professor Zhifeng Ren, an author of this study, this technique can be used to generate hydrogen to produce clean energy, and burning it will produce freshwater. That means this technique can generate not only energy but also drinkable water from seawater.

Ren says:

He adds that we can power a machine separating hydrogen with this technique by wind power or solar power to make the entire process environment-friendly. He also says that the team will keep working with the aim of making it possible to use this technique on a larger scale.