Grass.
Quite possibly the most disregarded plant in existence. For many of us, it is nothing more than a part of the scenery on our laptop wallpaper. If it grows too long, we take out our lawn mowers from the tool shed and get to work. If it looks dry, we sprinkle some water. However, broadly speaking, that is the extent of its function in our lives.
But now, things might be about to change.
Researchers at the Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom havediscovered a novel way to extract hydrogen gas from fescue grass (that is, a common type of grass which grows in every continent except Antarctica and is tolerant to shade as well as cold). Hydrogen is an important energy source for us, due to its relative abundance and the lack of unwanted harmful byproducts which make it an especially clean source of energy. However, it is also relatively difficult to obtain hydrogen gas from geological and biological sources available to us. The most well known process used for producing hydrogen, called electrolysis, uses a catalyst (a substance which changes the speed at which a reaction happens) to break down water into its components, hydrogen and oxygen. However, this catalyst that the reaction calls for is usually a very expensive metal like iridium. The costs for such catalysts can run into tens of thousands of dollars for one kilogram, rendering the whole exercise unprofitable. This makes hydrogen synthesis processes expensive and energy intensive, and hence reducesthe energy benefits and negates the environmental advantages of hydrogen.
However, the researchers at Cardiff University have found that a process called photoreforming or photocatalysis can be utilised rather effectively on grass. In this, sunlight is used to trigger a chemical reaction. In this particular case, sunlight used in combination with a cheap metal based catalyst can be used to convert the cellulose (a type of sugar which makes the plant stiffand water present in the grass to hydrogen gas.
A professor at the Cardiff Catalysis Institute, Michael Bowkerremarks, “Hydrogen is seen as an important future energy carrier as the world moves from fossil fuels to renewable feedstocks, and our research has shown that even garden grass could be a good way of getting hold of it.”
The process was tested using 3 different relatively cheap metals: palladium, gold and nickel. All 3 were successful, however it was found that nickel was the cheapest and most cost efficient option of them all.
While the results are only preliminary at this point of time, it is believed that this could prove to be one of the most efficient ways of generating hydrogen.
This effort is reflective of the shift in priorities from just efficient generators of energy to clean and efficient sources of energy. Researchers and scientists are striving to find processes and ways of generating energy which eliminate the emission of gases like carbon dioxide altogether, as they are one of the primary culprits of global warming due to their greenhouse effect.
One such effort worthy of mention is the ‘nano-sized hydrogen generator’. This small device also uses light, but in conjunction with a carbon material called graphene in order to produce pure hydrogen gas. It is estimated that an expanded version of this device could be powerful enough to provide adequate power to operate a car or generator.
This marked change in the sensibilities of industries and science worldwide seems to show that finally we are realising the true importance of creating new energy infrastructures which a deliberate emphasis of the cleanliness of this energy. This bodes well for our planet, and by extension, for us.
Written by: Kartikey Sharma
Tags: clean power for grass Grass
