Hydrogen production

Engineers at Leeds University are developing an environmentally friendly system that enables hydrogen to be extracted from waste materials, such as vegetable oil and the glycerol by-product of biodiesel.

The aim is to create the high-purity hydrogen-based fuel necessary not only for large-scale power production, but also for smaller portable fuel cells.

Dr Valerie Dupont from the School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering (SPEME), said: 'We are investigating the feasibility of creating a uniquely energy efficient method of hydrogen production that uses air rather than burners to heat the raw product. Our current research will improve the sustainability of this process and reduce its carbon emissions.'

The system being developed at Leeds – known as Unmixed and Sorption-Enhanced Steam Reforming – mixes hydrocarbon-based fuel from plant or waste sources with steam in a catalytic reactor, generating hydrogen and carbon dioxide along with excess water. The water is then condensed by cooling and the carbon dioxide is removed in situ by a solid sorbent material.