Researchers have successfully split seawater without pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen

According to a new study published in Nature, saltwater can be divided without any prior treatment to produce green hydrogen. The international research team was led by Professor Shizhang Qiao and Associate Professor Yao Zheng from the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide.

Seawater is regarded as an almost infinite supply of natural feedstock electrolyte. In regions with vast coastlines and plenty of sunshine, this makes more sense. However, it is inapplicable where there is little or no access to seawater.

When compared to pure water electrolysis, seawater electrolysis is still in its infancy due to corrosion brought on by using seawater and electrode side reactions. In order to use the technology in commercial processes like ammonia synthesis and hydrogen generation for fuel cells, the researchers will try to scale it up using a larger electrolyser.

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