A US research team claims to have developed a way of using microbial fuel cells with a platinum catalyst to convert cellulose and other biodegradable organic materials directly to hydrogen - a discovery that could accelerate hydrogen's viability as a fuel source.

Bruce Logan and Shaoan Cheng, Professor of Environmental Engineering and Research Assistant at Penn State University respectively, used naturally occurring bacteria in a microbial electrolysis with acetic acid for the process.

Meanwhile, the anode was granulated graphite, while the other components were a carbon cathode with a platinum catalyst and an off-the-shelf anion exchange membrane

Professor Logan claims that the process works through the bacteria consuming the acetic acid and releasing electrons and protons - creating up to 0.3 volts. The subsequent addition of 0.2 volts from an external power source, he says, prompts hydrogen to be produced.

Results from tests suggest that the process is significantly more efficient than the existing water hydrolysis approach to producing hydrogen, which is only 50 per cent to 70 per cent efficient.

Professor Logan said: "This process produces 288 per cent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added to the process."

The method could also be combined with natural gas and used in natural gas-powered vehicles, Professor Logan claims.

Source:

Clean, carbon-neutral hydrogen on the horizon, 12/11/07
http://live.psu.edu/story/27233

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