MIT Engineers Develop Fast Method for Generating Clean Hydrogen Using Recycled Soda Cans
MIT researchers have found a sustainable, efficient way to produce clean-burning hydrogen fuel. The key ingredients are aluminum from recycled soda cans, seawater, and caffeine.
Aluminum and Seawater: A Bubbling Reaction
Professor Douglas Hart’s team discovered that pure aluminum exposed to seawater generates hydrogen gas. This zero-emissions fuel could power engines and fuel cells without contributing to climate change.
The researchers accidentally found that coffee grounds significantly speed up the reaction. The caffeine compound imidazole accelerates hydrogen production, reducing time from 2 hours to 5 minutes.
Sustainable Hydrogen Production Cycle
To enable the reaction, aluminum is pretreated with a gallium-indium alloy. The alloy removes the oxide layer that prevents aluminum from reacting with water.
Seawater’s salt ions recover the rare metal alloy post-reaction. This allows it to be reused, creating a sustainable production cycle.
Potential for Zero-Emissions Marine Transportation
The team envisions a compact hydrogen reactor for ships and underwater vehicles. Boats would carry pretreated, recycled aluminum pellets, gallium-indium, and caffeine.
These would be incrementally added to the reactor with seawater to produce fuel. The hydrogen would power motors or create electricity, enabling zero-emissions marine transport.
“We’re showing a new way to produce hydrogen fuel, without carrying hydrogen but aluminum,” says lead author Aly Kombargi. Future applications could include trucks, trains, and planes.
40 pounds of aluminum pellets could power a small underwater glider for 30 days. Extracting water from humidity to produce fuel is another possibility.
This innovative approach to generating clean hydrogen from abundant materials could help decarbonize transportation. Recycling aluminum waste into zero-emissions energy is a significant step towards sustainability.
Read more: University Startup Secures Funding for Biomass-to-Hydrogen
