In Brazil, Agencia Fapesp reported that a study led by researchers from the Center for Innovation in New Energies (CINE) has shown that replacing water with glycerol – popularly known as glycerin – increases the efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells. These cells use sunlight as a source of clean, renewable energy to generate green hydrogen.
CINE is an Applied Research Center (ARC) set up by FAPESP and Shell in 2018. It is based at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), the University of São Paulo (USP), and the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), and eight other Brazilian institutions participate.
“The process of generating hydrogen requires energy, which can come from the electricity grid, as in classic electrolysis, or from other sources, such as solar energy,” explains Elton Sitta, a professor at UFSCar and a researcher at CINE. “In our study, we examined organic molecules that, when oxidized, can serve as sources of electrons and protons for generating hydrogen,” says Sitta.
The research team concluded that glycerol exhibits the greatest potential for generating electrons for the production of green hydrogen.
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