By Jeremiah Budin, TCD
Now, a new technique developed by researchers at Rice University in Texas have developed a technique that transforms plastic waste into usable hydrogen fuel without the massive pollution produced by traditional methods.
Not only would this provide hydrogen fuel that is good for the planet, but it would also provide a use for some of the mountains of plastic waste our society generates regularly.
“I hope that this work will allow for the production of clean hydrogen from waste plastics, possibly solving major environmental problems like plastic pollution and the greenhouse gas-intensive production of hydrogen by steam-methane reforming,” said Kevin Wyss, the study’s lead author.
Wyss also laid out how the process simultaneously creates graphene and hydrogen, making it incredibly cost-effective.
“If the produced graphene is sold at only five percent of current market value — a 95 percent off sale! — clean hydrogen could be produced for free,” Wyss said.
Other attempts to produce clean hydrogen include a facility in Texas that uses wind and solar energy to create hydrogen fuel from water. However, considering how scarce clean water is becoming — and how much plastic waste is soaring — this new method sounds even more promising.