New tech developed to generate green hydrogen from biomass
New Delhi, July 13 (India Science Wire): A team of researchers from the Bengaluru-based
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed an innovative technology that promises to
produce hydrogen from the abundantly available biomass itself instead of the traditional
raw material of fossil fuels.
India uses nearly 50 lakh tonnes of hydrogen for various processes in different sectors, and
the hydrogen market is expected to grow substantially in the coming years. But most of the
hydrogen presently comes from fossil fuels through a process called the steam methane
reforming route.
The new environment-friendly process consists of two steps. In the first step, biomass is
converted into syngas – a hydrogen-rich fuel gas mixture – in a novel reactor using oxygen
and steam. In the second step, pure hydrogen is generated from the syngas using an
indigenously developed low-pressure gas separation unit.
Announcing the development, an IISc press release noted that the new technology was also
significant as it produced 100 g of hydrogen from one kg of biomass even though only 60 g
of hydrogen is present in 1 kg of biomass. This is because the steam, which also contains
hydrogen, participated in the reaction.
The process, it added, is environmentally friendly for another reason too. It is carbon
negative. It has two carbon byproducts. One is solid carbon, which serves as a carbon sink,
and the other is carbon dioxide, which can be used in other value-added products.
The project was supported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the
Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. The team also
acknowledged the assistance of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited in scaling up the
technology to produce 0.25 tonnes of hydrogen per day for use in hydrogen-powered fuel
cell buses.
Dr. S. Dasappa, team leader and Professor at the Centre for Sustainable Technologies, and
Chair of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research at IISc, said, that the technology
dovetails nicely with the Government of India’s National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap
initiative, aimed at promoting the use of hydrogen as a fuel and reduce dependence on
fossil fuels. In addition, the green hydrogen could also be used in the steel industry to
decarbonise steel, in agriculture industry to manufacture green fertilisers, and in many
sectors currently using hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. Further, the same platform can
also be used for methanol and ethanol production. It is a step towards achieving the Prime
Minister’s goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat, he adds. (India Science Wire)