S. Korean researchers develop catalyst with high efficiency of hydrogen liberation from plastic

플라스틱에 빛 쪼여 수소 만든다 최고 효율 촉매 개발

South Korean researchers have developed a catalyst that increases the efficiency of liberating hydrogen from plastic by more than 10 times without the need for additional electricity or heat input.
Jeong Eun-joo has the details.

This is a solution where fragments of PET bottles are dissolved in a strong alkali.
When exposed to light with a wavelength similar to that of the sun, gas bubbles are generated.
These gas bubbles are hydrogen.

After 40 hours, 98 percent of the plastic is decomposed and converted entirely into either carbon dioxide or hydrogen.
The amount of hydrogen produced per 100 grams of plastic is approximately 58 liters.

Even just one gram of the catalyst developed by South Korean researchers can generate 3-point-7 liters of hydrogen per hour.
This performance is more than 10 times superior to previously reported ones.

"Catalysts that decompose a raw material of plastic have been developed. In this study, even stable molecules containing benzene rings can be completely decomposed."

The significant increase in catalytic efficiency is due to the uniform distribution of platinum, the core material of the catalyst, on the supporting material.

The supporting material, titanium dioxide, was exposed to sunlight to create many holes in the surface.
When platinum was inserted into each hole and bonded, almost all platinum atoms participated in the catalytic reaction, maximizing reaction efficiency.

"With only sunlight and no additional energy, we can create uniform bonding sites on the commercially supported catalyst and allow metals to bond in the optimal state."

The research team expects the cost of the catalyst to be low because only a small amount of platinum is needed, maximizing its efficiency.

Jeong Eun-joo, Arirang News.

#Plastic #Hydrogen #Light #Develop #플라스틱 #빛 #수소 #개발 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스

2024-03-04, 12:00 (KST)

[sailingadventurer]

100 grams of plastic generated 50 litres of hydrogen gas at what pressure ? Always remember to mention the pressure when mentioning the amount of gas in volume terms. Otherwise just mention the mass of the gas generated which is a difficult process to find. 50 liters of hydrogen at very low pressure doesn't amount to much.

[ab]

It would be very informative to know how they're going to manage the CO2 generated in the process.