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Researchers at a university in Scotland have reportedly found a method to convert wastewater from the whisky production sector into eco-friendly fuel for the future.
A group of researchers from Heriot-Watt University have created substances that are able to convert wastewater from distilleries into environmentally-friendly hydrogen. This alternative fuel does not emit carbon when it is used, unlike traditional fossil fuels.
Typically, green hydrogen is produced using clean water and is estimated to use approximately 20.5 billion liters of fresh water annually.
The team at Heriot-Watt University aims to utilize their newly developed material to convert approximately one billion liters of wastewater, generated by the distilling industry annually, into green hydrogen.
We must decrease our consumption of clean water and other resources from nature.
Dr. Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu, a materials scientist at the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the university, stated that producing one kilogram of green hydrogen requires nine kilograms of water. In addition, every liter of malt whisky production results in approximately ten liters of residue.
In order to preserve the environment, it is important to decrease our consumption of clean water and other resources. Our study centered on finding a way to utilize distillery wastewater for the production of environmentally-friendly hydrogen. This involved implementing a straightforward procedure to eliminate any harmful substances found in the water.
Dr. Pitchaimuthu and his colleagues have created a tiny material that is 1/10,000th the size of a human hair. This material can be used to substitute fresh water with distillery wastewater in the production of green hydrogen.
This research found that a nanoparticle, known as nickel selenide, can effectively treat wastewater and generate comparable or slightly greater amounts of green hydrogen compared to using fresh water.
The findings are documented in the academic publication Sustainable Energy & Fuels, from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Dr. Pitchaimuthu’s doctoral student, Michael Walsh, was a crucial contributor to the study.
By utilizing wastewater from the industry, we can decrease the large amount of freshwater needed for producing green hydrogen.
According to Dr Pitchaimuthu, the distilling industry produces approximately one billion litres of wastewater annually, making the potential of this process significant.
By utilizing industrial wastewater, we can decrease the significant amount of fresh water used in the production of green hydrogen. Our findings also demonstrate how we can utilize global resources in a more environmentally-friendly manner to generate renewable energy.
The Heriot-Watt research team’s future plans involve creating their own prototype of an electrolyser and increasing the production of their nickel selenide nanoparticles.
Additionally, they will examine the wastewater from the distillery in order to determine if there are any other valuable materials that can be extracted from it, in addition to hydrogen and oxygen.
The study received funding from the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University and was conducted in partnership with the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Bath and The Scotch Whisky Research Institute.
Source: independent.co.uk
