As the environmental threats rise, countries are looking at alternatives that can be used to fuel vehicles; spacecraft, etc. Hence, the world is turning to fuel made of hydrogen as they produce zero carbon emission and burn with oxygen. For example, Saudi Arabia, is planning to build a hydrogen facility that will use seawater. It will cost the country about $5 Billion.
Recently, a team of researchers has found a new product to make hydrogen fuel using seawater. It is important to notice that the fuel would be made from seawater found in abundance around the world and is also the kind of water that humans have no regular use. This would work as a great development in the Hydrogen Fuel Cells Market as it is comparatively easier and cheaper to make than other methods.
The researchers have combined water purifying technology into a proof of concept design for a new seawater electrolyzer. This technology uses an electric current for splitting apart water and hydrogen molecules. It may enable humans to turn wind and solar energy into fuel that would be storable as well as portable.
Hydrogen fuel is sustainable, and the best way to produce it by combining wind and solar energy found in coastal and offshore environments in addition to seawater. It is because common people have no use for these things.
Usually, it is hard to use saline water for this purpose as chlorine ions in the sea alter, and turn into toxic chlorine gas, which degrades the equipment and pours out in the environment. For this to not happen, water needs to be desalinated prior to entering into the electrolyzer, which is an expensive extra step.
To counter this problem, researchers inserted a semi-permeable membrane inside the technology. This membrane was first developed to purify water in the reverse osmosis (RO) treatment process. It puts extremely high pressure on water and pushes it through the membrane while keeping the chlorine ions behind.
Researchers have stated that inside the electrolyzer, seawater would not be pushed through the RO membrane but instead would be contained by it. Seawater would be kept on the cathode side of the membrane, and as chlorine ions are too big to pass through the membrane, they are not able to reach the anode, thus, averting the production of chlorine gas.
Researchers involved in this will continue to explore seawater electrolysis more to develop the technology further.