Japanese chemists report another way of making hydrogen from glycerin.

[NNadir]

Recently I reported a paper from a Japanese group that had developed some catalysts for making hydrogen from the biodiesel by-product glycerin. The link is here: http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/enfuem/asap/abs/ef0500538.html. This method was a steam reforming method

Another group has reported yet another way of accomplishing the same task, a method that may be more environmentally friendly since it involves the use of light (potentially solar) energy rather than heat. This is a photolytic cleavage system using a rather complex tungsten titanium catalyst. An excerpt follows:

"Recently, there has been a worldwide increase in the production of biodiesel, a fuel that is environmentally benign owing to its low sulfur content and the fact that it does not participate in global warming.1-3 Biodiesel is produced by combining vegetable oils with methanol in a transesterification reaction that yields a fatty acid methyl ester (i.e., biodiesel) and glycerin. Accompanying this increase in biodiesel production, glycerin has become an oversupplied compound, for which new applications are strongly desired.1 Dihydrogen production from inexpensive and readily available sources is attractive because it may contribute to solving both energy and environmental concerns. Several reports have focused on H2 production from biomass-derived hydrocarbons, including glycerin, by use of metal catalysts that work at temperatures near 500 K.4-7 Water-soluble polyoxometalate complexes, such as silicododecatungstate 4-, have been known for the past 20 years to be efficient homogeneous photocatalysts for the formation of H2 from acidic aqueous solutions containing alcohol (typically methanol),8,9 where the alcohol acts as an electron source to the photocatalysts and the reduced photocatalysts cause the reduction of H+ in water to H2. These reported polyoxometalate photocatalysts consist of a single polyanion unit, typically of Keggin-type, and the systems require colloidal platinum as a cocatalyst for the catalytic formation of H2. On the other hand, giant polyoxometalate complexes formed by the combination of several polyanion units are attractive photocatalyst candidates for H2 formation because the multielectron redox capabilities of these giant complexes may facilitate the reduction of H+ in water to H2 without requiring the use of a precious-metal cocatalyst. We report herein that two giant polyoxometalate complexes consisting of four Dawson-type polyanion units, Na21K4<{P2W15Ti3O57.5-(OH)3}4Cl>â104H2O (1) and Na18H15{P2W15Ti3O59(OH)3}4- {í3-Ti(OH)3}4Cl]â105H2O (2), can function as photocatalysts to form H2 from aqueous glycerin without requiring
any cocatalyst..."

The abstract of the article can be found here: http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/enfuem/asap/abs/ef050157i.html

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Like many similar schemes, this technology, should it prove robust and scalable, may not represent a "magic bullet," but, assuming that humanity survives, it may provide some help in the existing crisis.

[EVDebs]

1. Green algae can also be a source of hydrogen production

http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/127/3/740

and was recently featured on Alan Alda's PBS Science show. Can't remember the name of the company though.