Researchers turn recovered car battery acid and plastic waste into clean hydrogen
In the UK, the University of Cambridge said that a group of researchers have developed a solar-powered reactor to break down hard-to-recycle forms of plastic waste – such as drinks bottles, nylon textiles and polyurethane foams – using acid recovered from old car batteries, and converting it into clean hydrogen fuel and valuable industrial chemicals.
The reactor, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, is powered by the energy from the sun, and could be a cheaper, more sustainable alternative to current chemical-based recycling methods. The team said their method could create a circular system where one waste stream solves another.
In laboratory tests, the reactor generated high hydrogen yields and produced acetic acid with high selectivity. It also ran for more than 260 hours without any loss in performance.
The researchers say their method offers a potential order‑of‑magnitude cost reduction compared with other photoreforming approaches, largely because the acid enables increased hydrogen production rates and can be reused rather than consumed or wasted.
Category: Research
