AUTONEWS

MIT researchers create hydrogen fuel with seawater and coffee grounds

MIT researchers have discovered a way to produce hydrogen fuel with seawater, coffee grounds and aluminum. According to the team, the invention could be used to power engines or fuel cells in vessels that suck seawater, producing the fuel on demand in the vehicle itself.

MIT scientists have discovered that it is possible to make hydrogen fuel with seawater, coffee grounds and aluminum;

The process occurs thanks to the chemical reaction between the metal and water, eliminating the oxygen and leaving only hydrogen;

The team used aluminum pellets – more stable and easier to work with – with an alloy made of gallium and indium (so that the reaction lasted longer);

Coffee grounds were used to speed up the process (thanks to the imidazole present in caffeine);

With the new formula, the team highlights that it would be possible to produce hydrogen fuel on demand in the maritime vehicles themselves;

The study was published in Cell Reports Physical Science.

The scientists based their work on the chemical reaction between oxygen and aluminum: when it comes into contact with water, aluminum removes the oxygen, leaving only hydrogen behind. The team used aluminum pellets, which are easier to work with due to their stability.

Seawater and coffee fuel can be created at any time...As described in Cell Reports Physical Science, a single 0.3g aluminum pellet generated 400ml of hydrogen in five minutes when placed in fresh deionized water. It is estimated that 1g of pellets could generate 1.3L of hydrogen in the same amount of time.

One of the problems the team encountered was the accumulation of aluminum oxide on the surface of the metal, blocking some of the interaction with oxygen. This was solved by using an alloy made of gallium and indium, which was able to break down the oxide and allow the reaction to last longer.

Another problem is that the reaction is much slower in seawater than in freshwater. That’s where coffee powder came in: imidazole, an organic compound found in caffeine, was able to significantly speed up the reaction.

“This is very interesting for marine applications like boats or underwater vehicles because we wouldn’t have to carry seawater – it’s readily available. We also don’t have to carry a tank of hydrogen. Instead, we would carry aluminum as ‘fuel’ and just add water to produce the hydrogen we need,” explains Aly Kombargi, lead author of the study, in a statement.

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