Hydrogen becoming cheaper

2004/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Kimika

This reactor produces hydrogen at a lower price than the rest and, once the process is refined, the electricity obtained from this hydrogen will have a normal market price.

The reactor is fed with ethanol and air, uses rhodium as a catalyst and works at 700ºC.

The hydrogen obtained in the reactor cannot be used in any fuel cell, since the minimum concentration required is not reached. However, it is a great breakthrough. In fact, hydrogen is a clean fuel: it is reacted with oxygen to obtain electricity in fuel cells, and the only by-product that is obtained is water. To date, however, no clean and cheap methods have been achieved to obtain the hydrogen itself.