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Scientific American - June 27, 2003
A major roadblock to widespread use of hydrogen-powered
electric vehicles, which emit water vapor as a byproduct and could cut
greenhouse gas emissions substantially, is the cost and trouble associated
with producing a suitable supply of hydrogen.
Last year scientists reported having developed a technique to harness the fuel from biomass, but the catalyst required for the reaction was too expensive to be commercially viable. The same researchers announce today in the journal Science that they have discovered a different catalyst that works just as well at a fraction of the cost.
James Dumesic and his colleagues at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, tested more than 300 materials in search of one that could catalyze the reaction of hydrocarbons derived from biomass to form hydrogen a process known as aqueous-phase reforming (APR) as well as a platinum-based catalyst does.
"The APR process can be used on the small scale to produce fuel for portable devices such as cars, batteries and military equipment," Dumesic says. "But it could also be scaled up as a hydrogen source for industrial applications, such as the production of fertilizers or the removal of sulfur from petroleum products."
The researchers found that a catalyst known as Raney-nickel, which is 90 percent nickel and 10 percent aluminum--was moderately effective at producing hydrogen. Adding tin to the mix yielded a catalyst that was comparable to the platinum-based one and performed admirably at lower temperatures.
Reprinted with permission
