There's a new way to gather fuel from a renewable resource.
Researchers have found a way to extract vast quantities of hydrogen from
any plant using a breakthrough method that has the potential to bring a
low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world.
In order to accomplish this feat, the researchers combined xylose,
the most abundant plant sugar, and a cocktail of enzymes that were
artificially isolated from different microorganisms that thrive at
extreme temperatures. They then added polyphosphate and used mild
reaction conditions at 122 degrees Fahrenheit and normal atmospheric
pressure. In the end, the scientists liberated three times as much
hydrogen as other hydrogen-producing microorganisms.
"Our new process could help end our dependence on fossil fuels," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, the lead researcher, "Hydrogen is one of the most important biofuels of the future." Hydrogen fuel does indeed have the potential to dramatically reduce
our reliance on fossil fuels, according to the U.S. Department of
Energy. Currently, automobile manufacturers are attempting to develop
vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cells. Unlike cars that run on gas,
these hypothetical vehicles would only produce water as a "pollutant."
Before now, though, there wasn't a way to create the hydrogen fuel
these cars would need in a cost-effective manner. Challenges to the
commercial production of hydrogen gas from biomass included not only the
high cost of the processes to make it, but also the relatively low
quantity that was produced. The researchers' new method, though, could
provide all the fuel that these cars would need.
Unfortunately, it may be quite some time before these cars are
actually created. Yet if they are created, they may just have a fuel
source to use that could be environmentally friendly.
