Columbia Technology Ventures

High-purity hydrogen production and carbon capture from biomass

This technology is an efficient, carbon-neutral method for extracting hydrogen gas from biomass.

Unmet Need: Hydrogen fuel production from biomass without carbon emissions

Global energy demand and climate change underscore the need for low-carbon and carbon-neutral energy sources. Hydrogen fuel provides a viable energy source that can be extracted from biomass by pyrolysis or gasification, methods that extract gas without combustion. However, current gasification methods often still generate carbon gases as byproducts and require high temperatures above 700 ºC for efficient hydrogen production. As such, there is a need for a method to convert biomass to hydrogen fuel at more moderate temperatures while reducing carbon gas emissions.

The Technology: Alkaline hydrothermal treatment and nanocatalysts for carbon-neutral hydrogen production from biomass

This technology achieves energy conversion from biomass through an alkaline hydrothermal treatment, using a combination of strong base to remove carbon from the feedstock and nickel nanocatalysts to increase the efficiency of bio-refinement. The reaction is carried out such that the hydroxide base is recycled to react with more biomass while hydrogen and carbon are converted into gas and CO2 for immediate sequestration. This technology operates on a wide range of feedstocks, including biomass and biogenic wastes with high water and salt content, such as seaweed. Furthermore, energy conversion is achieved at ambient pressure and temperatures as low as 250 ºC, making for more efficient fuel generation. Overall, this technology promises to provide a source of sustainable energy with a zero or even negative carbon footprint.

Applications:

  • Sustainable bioenergy production
  • Hydrogen fuel production
  • Carbon capture and storage
  • Waste-to-energy conversion
  • Fuel cell technologies

Advantages:

  • Requires lower temperature and pressure than conventional hydrogen generation methods
  • Reduces energy requirements for biomass conversion to hydrogen fuel
  • Enables carbon neutral or carbon negative hydrogen fuel production
  • Minimizes release of carbon gases
  • Versatile feedstocks, including those with high water and salt content

Lead Inventor:

Ah-Hyung Alissa Park, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Status

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