Carbon-neutral biomass hydrogen platform with built-in carbon capture

This technology is a carbon-neutral chemical reaction system that converts biomass into high-purity hydrogen gas while simultaneously capturing carbon dioxide byproducts as solid carbonates, enabling clean and renewable energy generation.

Unmet Need: Clean, efficient, inexpensive, carbon-neutral hydrogen production method

Current hydrogen production relies heavily on fossil fuel reforming, which emits large amounts of carbon dioxide and undermines its use as a clean energy source. While biomass offers a renewable and carbon-neutral alternative, existing biomass-to-hydrogen methods such as gasification and pyrolysis require high temperatures, expensive catalysts, and extensive input pretreatment, resulting in high costs and low hydrogen purity. There is a critical need for an efficient, low-emission, and economically viable process that can convert diverse biomass resources into clean hydrogen while minimizing carbon release.

The Technology: Low-cost, carbon-neutral hydrogen technology for renewable energy markets

This technology is a system that converts biomass into hydrogen through a combined alkaline thermal treatment and molten salt electrolysis process. In the first stage, biomass is thermochemically decomposed at moderate temperatures, enhancing the release of hydrogen while preventing carbon buildup. Simultaneously, carbon dioxide generated during conversion reacts with alkaline salts to form carbonate compounds, which are then reduced to solid carbon, capturing carbon dioxide within the reactor. The process operates at lower temperatures and pressures than conventional gasification or pyrolysis, and does not require costly catalysts or extensive pretreatment.

Preliminary prototyping and bench-scale validation have demonstrated efficient hydrogen generation with minimal emissions and successful regeneration of hydroxide salts for reuse in subsequent cycles.

Applications:

  • Renewable hydrogen production
  • Manufacturing of fuel cells and transportation
  • Grid energy storage
  • Decarbonized industrial hydrogen supply
  • Chemical manufacturing
  • Ammonia synthesis
  • Metal production
  • Carbon capture and utilization
  • Waste-to-energy conversion
  • Research tool for studying carbon-negative electrochemical conversion processes

Advantages:

  • High-throughput
  • Cost-effective
  • Operates at lower temperatures and pressures than comparable systems
  • Eliminates reliance on catalysts
  • Utilizes renewable biomass resources,
  • Improved efficiency
  • Scalable across multiple industries
  • Higher quality hydrogen production

Lead Inventor:

Ah-Hyung Alissa Park, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (WO/2020/023452)

Tech Ventures Reference:

  • IR CU24233, CU12042

  • Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu