Researchers Turn Wastewater into Source of Hydrogen
News in the search for sustainable fuels
The search for sustainable fuel sources to transition us away from finite fossil fuels continues, as researchers from Penn State have developed a way to produce hydrogen while using no grid electricity. Hydrogen as a fuel source is one of the best bets to become one of the new fuel alternatives. But in the past, it has taken energy generated by fossil fuels to manufacture hydrogen. The new method involves extracting energy from the ionic differences between salt water and fresh water; enough energy to generate hydrogen from organic material. The process requires only seawater and river water and biodegradable organic matter (wastewater), so supplies are essentially limitless.