Researchers at The Ohio State University found a way to convert carbon dioxide and industrial waste into green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen is a clean fuel produced by splitting water, and it has no negative environmental impact when produced using renewable energy. However, producing it usually requires a lot of electricity. The team figured out how to use chemical reactions in industrial waste to reduce the energy required to produce this clean fuel.

Using Industrial Waste to Produce Clean Fuel

An rendering of green hydrogen molecules; Photo: Piyaset/Shutterstock

In the first test, researchers used industrial by-products such as steel slag and coal ash to capture carbon dioxide. This reaction produces a high-purity mineral called calcite, which is used in applications such as construction materials and pharmaceuticals.

Impressively, this process reduces the energy required for water electrolysis to produce green hydrogen.

Advertisement

“Carbon dioxide is an abundant resource that we need to make an effort to capture and utilize,” Tomaz Neves-Garcia, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher, explained. “When paired with industrial waste, it can be transformed into valuable products, so we came up with a process where instead of releasing its energy, we actually harvest it from the capturing process to produce green hydrogen and valuable calcite.”

Lower Costs and Less Pollution

Since the process doesn’t require specialized materials to capture carbon, industries like coal and steel can easily use it to dispose of their waste.

“This technology is exciting because it takes two abundant waste streams and converts them to valuable products, which are in high demand for fuels and manufacturing,” Robert Baker, a professor and senior author of the study, said. “It also has the potential to make a significant economic impact without relying on carbon credits, government subsidies, or environmental mandates.”

With the added value of the calcite they make, the team expects the green hydrogen to cost less than $1 per kilogram. That price makes it competitive with hydrogen made from fossil fuels. If industries adopt this method widely, the researchers estimate it could stop about 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution every year.

“Climate solutions do not only have to be more expensive, but they can also be simpler, scalable, and economically attractive,” Neves-Garcia added. “We have the ability now to implement them.”