Our sunlight powered technology is exciting as it enables the production of clean hydrogen from unprocessed biomass under ambient conditions.
- Dr Erwin Reisner
One of the challenges facing modern society is what it does with its waste products. As natural resources decline in abundance, using waste for energy is becoming more pressing for both governments and business.
Biomass has been a source of heat and energy since the beginning of recorded history. The planet’s oil reserves are derived from ancient biomass which has been subjected to high pressures and temperatures over millions of years. Lignocellulose is the main component of plant biomass and up to now its conversion into hydrogen has only been achieved through a gasification process which uses high temperatures to decompose it fully.
Dr Moritz Kuehnel, from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, joint lead author on a new research paper published in Nature Energy, says: "Lignocellulose is nature's equivalent to armoured concrete. It consists of strong, highly crystalline cellulose fibres, that are interwoven with lignin and hemicellulose which act as a glue. This rigid structure has evolved to give plants and trees mechanical stability and protect them from degradation, and makes chemical utilisation of lignocellulose so challenging."
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Image: Paper releasing gaseous hydrogen under solar light
Credit: Dept of Chemistry
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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