Australian scientists have made a major breakthrough in the separation and storage of gases in powder form. Promising to greatly reduce the environmental footprint of the petrochemical industry, it would greatly simplify the storage and transport of hydrogen.
Storing gases in solid form and at a lower cost
Giving off no carbon emissions when burned with oxygen, thehydrogen has an energy density much higher than that of common fossil fuels (it is three times higher than that of propane, methane or gasoline, for example). If such properties make it an ideal candidate to power the vehicles of tomorrow, it is currently proving difficult to store, which obviously impacts its cost.
But all that could soon change, thanks to the important breakthrough made by scientists at Deakin University, Australia. The result of three decades of research, it was recently described in the journal Materials Today.
The new mechano-chemical approach consists of grinding boron nitride powder using stainless steel balls, in a sealed cylindrical chamber inside which the various gases to be separated are introduced. The progressive acceleration of the rotation of the cylinder increases the pressure exerted by the balls on the powder, until particular gas absorption thresholds are reached.
Very energy efficient, this process generates virtually no emissions. The authors of the study point out that boron nitride powder can be reused many times without the need to use harsh and toxic chemicals. Simply heat the powder to several hundred degrees Celsius to release the gases for later use.
Cheap hydrogen
” The current method of storing hydrogen is to use a high pressure tank or to cool the gas down to its liquid form “, explains Ying Chen, co-author of the study. ” Both of these methods require large amounts of energy, as well as hazardous processes and chemicals.. »
” Our mechano-chemical alternative based on bead milling to store the gas in the nanomaterial at room temperature does not require high pressure or low temperatures. Which makes it much safer and paves the way for the development of more affordable hydrogen vehicles.. »
In addition to simplifying the storage and transport of hydrogen, this approach could also significantly reduce emissions from the petrochemical sector.
A process that would significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the petrochemical industry
Petroleum refining accounts for 15% of global energy consumption. In these processing plants, crude oil is separated into various useful components, such as methane for domestic use or gasoline and diesel for transportation, through an energy-intensive process called cryogenic distillation.
According to Chen, the grinding gas absorption process consumes 76.8 kilojoules per second to store and separate 1,000 liters of gas. That is nearly 90% less energy than the oil industry’s current separation process.
Proof-of-concept experiments have so far separated two to three liters of material, but the Australian researchers believe their innovative process could be easily scaled up.
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