Microwave technology delivers clean energy faster
Scientists have developed a groundbreaking technology that addresses key limitations in clean hydrogen production using microwaves. An interdisciplinary team at Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH) successfully elucidated the underlying mechanism of this innovative process. Their findings mark a transformative step in the pursuit of sustainable energy.
Scientists underlined that existing hydrogen production technologies face significant barriers. Conventional thermochemical methods, which rely on the oxidation-reduction of metal oxides, require extremely high temperatures of up to 1,500°C (2,732°F). These methods are not only energy-intensive and costly but also challenging to scale, limiting their practical application, according to researchers.
Microwaves drive chemical reactions efficiently
To address these challenges, scientists opted for “microwaves” energy, the same source used in household microwave ovens. While microwaves are commonly associated with heating food, they can also drive chemical reactions efficiently.
Scientists demonstrated that microwave energy could lower the reduction temperature of Gd-doped ceria (CeO2)—a benchmark material for hydrogen production—to below 600℃ (1,112 °F), cutting the temperature requirement by over 60 percent. Remarkably, microwave energy was found to replace 75 percent of the thermal energy needed for the reaction, a breakthrough for sustainable hydrogen production, according to a press release.
Research can revolutionize commercial viability of hydrogen production
“This research has the potential to revolutionize the commercial viability of thermochemical hydrogen production technologies. It will also pave the way for the development of new materials optimized for microwave-driven chemical processes,” said Professor Hyungyu Jin from POSTECH.
“Introducing a new mechanism powered by microwaves and overcoming the limitations of existing processes are major achievements, made possible through the close interdisciplinary collaboration of our research team.”
Microwave-assisted hydrogen production is a promising technology
Researchers maintain that microwave-assisted hydrogen production is a promising technology with the capability to decompose H2O into H2 economically.
Published as the Inside Front Cover of Journal of Materials Chemistry, the study claims that the potential of this technology depends on the parameter fr that measures the fraction of microwave energy directly contributing to the reduction reaction of metal oxides by extracting the lattice oxygen.
Researchers revealed that findings advocate that microwave energy significantly contributes to defect formation under alleviated conditions (lower T and higher P(O2)) with a shorter timescale compared to conventional thermal reduction.
“Our study reaffirms the importance of fr in microwave-assisted reduction and provides a new thermodynamic insight into the interaction between defects and microwave fields in doped ceria,” said researchers.
They also highlighted that another critical advancement lies in the creation of “oxygen vacancies”, which are defects in the material structure essential for splitting water into hydrogen. Conventional methods often take hours at extremely high temperatures to form these vacancies, according to researchers.
Scientists achieved the same results in just minutes at temperatures below 600°C (1,112 °F) by leveraging microwave technology. This rapid process was further validated with a thermodynamic model, which provided valuable insight into the mechanism underlying the microwave-driven reaction, according to the study.
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