R. Govind, V. Shanov, M. Shultz, V. Guliants, J. Dong, R. Singh

Hydrogen is considered as the fuel for the twenty-first century since its use can meet the most stringent environmental standards. Processes developed for producing hydrogen involve steam reforming of hydrocarbons, such as coal, oil, gasoline, methanol, and natural gas. However, fossil fuels and crude oil are depleting resources, which produce polluting by-products, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and other unburnt hydrocarbons. Another industrial process for producing hydrogen gas is electrolysis of acidified water. But, this method consumes substantial electrical energy. Methods for storing hydrogen gas either require high pressure or are incapable of storing large volumes of hydrogen gas safely.

The objective of this thrust area is to develop economically viable, environmentally benign, and safe methods for hydrogen production and storage that can compete with current energy sources, especially for the transportation sector.

Specifically, the following methods for hydrogen production will be investigated.

• Using biomass and organic waste derived carbohydrates and hydrocarbons using transition metal-loaded zeolite catalysts and regenerative SOFC,
• Electrolytically split water using solar energy,
• Use functionalized carbon and B-N nanofibers and nanotube arrays for hydrogen storage, and
• Chemically split water using electropositive metals.