Hydrogen from biomass
27 September 2005 by Hydrogen PowerAmong the many efforts to find a cost effective source of hydrogen is this plan to turn agricultural waste products and energy crops like switchgrass into lower cost hydrogen.
a team of scientists from the Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, Ill., are trying to invent a very tough, yet permeable, membrane with which to extract hydrogen from gasified wood chips and cornstalks. The system would do this midway through the gasification process, instead of at the end of the pipe, saving considerable time and energy. The expected result: hydrogen that costs 20 to 40 percent less to produce than today’s product and roughly in line with Department of Energy goals for 2010.
The team, working in Minnesota, claims they could replace 89 percent of the state’s gasoline needs. Claims like this are often made in hydrogen research programs but results are what ultimately count and even the most optimistic forecasts see this as a long way off. It is an indication of the many directions researchers are looking for providing hydrogen in large and affordable quantities.
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