Swiss scientists achieve safe method of turning hydrogen into liquid fuel; could be paired w/solar [View all]

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Transforming hydrogen into liquid fuel using atmospheric CO2

EPFL scientists have completed their solution for transforming hydrogen gas into a less flammable liquid fuel that can be safely stored and transported

Hydrogen is often touted as the fuel of the future. But because this gas is highly explosive, it must be stored and transported under pressure in specialized and expensive containers. Hydrogen therefore has issues in terms of safety, logistics, and profitability that could significantly limit its wider use. However, a solution might lie in research by EPFL scientists, who have developed a simple system based on two chemical reactions. The first reaction transforms hydrogen into formic acid, a liquid that is easy to store and less flammable than gasoline, while the second reaction does the reverse and restores the hydrogen. Another possible application of their technology would be to use atmospheric CO2 to synthesize a number of useful chemical products.

Gabor Laurenczy's team has already developed a process for transforming formic acid into hydrogen gas. The method was the subject of several articles, one of which appeared in Science, and it is currently under industrial development. But a complete and coherent system would also require the inverse process: transforming hydrogen into formic acid. This has now been achieved, completing the cycle, thanks to the financial support of EOS Holding. The scientists in Laurenczy's team have described the process in a Nature Communications article...

...The two chemical reactions – hydrogen to formic acid and back to hydrogen - are catalytic: the advantage is that nothing is lost in the transformation, and the process can thus be used in constructing sustainable devices...

Full article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/epfd-thi060214.php

The only exhaust from Hydrogen is water. The Hydrogen age is here, no more fossil fuels. Imagine if a fraction of the money given to oil, fracking and nuclear fission was given to Hydrogen research.

Everywhere one looks on the net people expect huge (unrealistic) leaps in battery tech- so more cars can run on electricity made from coal- but seem to think that Hydrogen tech is somehow stuck in time. "There will be no way to contain it, ship it or use it cheaply" they say, over and over and over again, ignoring the fact that all of those things are being done today. Why is that? It's bizarre.