Cheap Catalyst Turns Ethanol Into Hydrogen

PC Magazine
08.22.08

A new inexpensive catalyst developed by Ohio State University can turn ethanol into hydrogen with a 90 percent yield. Such a process would have required the use of expensive metals. such as platinum or rhodium. The researchers' aim from the very start was to find a catalyst that could be much cheaper. A catalyst using rhodium, for example, could cost as much as $9,000 an ounce--whereas this new catalyst costs only $9 per kilogram.

Hydrogen storage and transportation are only a couple of issues hoping to be addressed in the future. According to the researchers, they could make hydrogen directly from ethanol inside gas reactors in gas stations because the process won't need an infrastructure or a centralized facility. So what is the catalyst exactly? The catalyst, which takes the form of a dark gray powder, is made of a common ceramics ingredient called cerium oxide, calcium, and small pieces of cobalt.

The catalyst works at 350 degrees Celsius, which is considered low temperature in the industry. The low temperature means there are savings in costs and precious energy. The process involves a reactor where heated ethanol is pumped. The catalyst then processes the ethanol inside the reactor until hydrogen-rich gas is produced.

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