The news may make you smile, but it is very real. Wastewater from whiskey distillation could be used to produce green hydrogen.
Who else but the Scots could have come up with this great idea? A team of researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh looked into this possibility. As China becomes king in the production of green hydrogen, it is good to see Scotland working on new solutions to save water in the production of clean energy. Between Brittany which inaugurated its immense hydrogen production site, and Caledonia which is now looking into the issue, proof that the Celts perhaps have their contribution to make in this new gold rush.
An innovative and ecological solution
Scotland produces around 700 million liters of whiskey per year. An important industry, which generates approximately one million liters of wastewater annually. For the moment, this water ends up in treatment plants before being released into nature. It’s environmentally friendly, but it’s a potentially wasted resource that could be used for more noble purposes.
Alongside this observation, it is estimated that the global production of green hydrogen consumes 20.5 billion liters of fresh water each year, the equivalent of 8,200,000 Olympic swimming pools. Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu is a materials scientist at Heriot-Watt University. He explains : ” It takes 9 kg of water to produce one of green hydrogen. Meanwhile, every liter of whiskey produced creates around 10 liters of residue. To help protect the planet, we must reduce our use of fresh water and other natural resources “. The team led by Pitchaimuthu therefore chose to explore the use of wastewater from distilleries as an alternative to fresh water.
The secret at the heart of this innovation: nanotechnology
In materials science, nanotechnology is a wonderful ally; the development of amorphous silicon carbide is very recent proof of this. The research carried out by Pitchaimuthu and his team led to the development of a new material: nickel selenide. We are here on the scale of the infinitely small, of the nanometric. The latter allows the treatment of wastewater from distilleries to transform it into hydrogen. Its yield would also be slightly higher than that of conventional fresh water.
Their results were published in an article published in the journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Next step: design an experimental electrolyzer and intensify the production of nickel selenide. This shows that even the most traditional industries can be put at the service of the most advanced innovations. To your health, or slàinte mhathas it is said in Gaelic when making a toast!
Sources: H2 Mobile, Sustainable Energy & Fuels
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