Technical Sales Engineer (Chemicals and Industrial Products) @ Bahwan Engineering Co LLC
Nanotechnology researchers, based at Deakin University's Institute, claim to have found a super-efficient way to mechanochemically trap and hold gases in powders, with potentially enormous and wide-ranging industrial implications. They have made a potentially game-changing discovery in the production, storage and transport of hydrogen: powdered hydrogen. Mechanochemistry is referring to a chemical reactions that are triggered by mechanical forces as opposed to heat, light, or electric potential differences. In this case, the mechanical force is supplied by ball milling – a low-energy grinding process in which a cylinder containing steel balls is rotated such that the balls roll up the side, then drop back down again, crushing and rolling over the material inside. Some Interesting points about this process: · The boron-nitride powder which is been used as a absorbent, can be re-used multiple times to carry out the gas separation process and storage again and again. · There is no process wastes. This process doesn’t require any harmful chemicals nor produces any by-product. Boron-nitride is also classified as a level 0 chemical, something that is perfectly safe to have in house. This means we can store hydrogen anywhere and use it whenever we need it. · Current way of storing hydrogen is in a high-pressure tank, or by cooling the gas down to a liquid form. Both process large amount of energy and harmful chemicals. This mechanochemical process doesn’t require high pressure or low temperature to store hydrogen, which makes it a safer and cheaper process than traditional methods. With their current research, the research team has been able to test their process on a small scale, separating about two to three litre of material. But they hope that with the help of industry they can scale up to a full pilot and they have submitted a potential patent application for their process. #hydrogen #storageandtransportation #sustainability #greenenergy #cleanenergy