Rostock – Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) in Rostock have developed a new process in the “Metha-Cycle” project to convert the energy stored in methanol from renewable sources back into hydrogen. The storage of electricity from renewable energies in hydrogen using electrolysis and the subsequent storage in methanol is only part of the conversion and use chain. The needs-based reconversion of methanol into hydrogen and its use in fuel cells to generate electricity have previously posed a problem.
Electricity is used to electrolytically produce hydrogen from water, which in turn can be converted into methanol using carbon dioxide. Methanol is the simplest representative in the group of alcohols and acts as a practical storage for hydrogen, according to project coordinator Henrik Junge: “Unlike hydrogen, methanol can be easily handled and transported over long distances.” If necessary, methanol can be converted back into hydrogen and then immediately used in a fuel cell to generate electricity.
The problem until now was that converting methanol back into hydrogen required high pressure and temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius. This has so far made general use less attractive, especially since the hydrogen has to have a certain degree of purity.
However, a three-stage cascade process enables methanol to be converted back into hydrogen under “mild” conditions. A test facility at the Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) Erlangen-Nuremberg demonstrated the functionality of the concept in spring 2020 with a running time of almost 500 hours. The fuel cell, developed by the Center for Fuel Cell Technology (ZBT) Duisburg, continuously produces electricity with an output of up to 39 watts.
The Metha-Cycle project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) with 1,8 million euros.
deep link
https://www.iwr.de/news/durchbruch-bei-der-wasserstoff-rueckumwandlung-aus-methanol-fuer-brennstoffzellen-news37017
https://www.catalysis.de/fileadmin/user_upload/MAIN-bilder/0_Home/Pressemitteilungen/Kaskade_von_Methanol_zu_Wasserstoff_.pdf
Photos
Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) in Rostock / © LIKAT
