Project description DEENESFRITPL From wastewater to hydrogen and other valuable chemicals, sustainably powered by the sun Wastewater treatment includes removal of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) often with caustic scrubbing, a technique that has been used for years. It generates sodium hydrogen sulphide (NaHS), which is of value to paper mills, but much of it is wasted for a variety of reasons. The EU-funded PECREGEN project has developed a sustainable way to get hydrogen gas (H2) and other valuable chemicals from all this NaHS. A photoelectrochemical cell harnessing sunlight splits NaHS to produce H2 and marketable sulfur while regenerating the sodium hydroxide used for H2S adsorption. Even better, the H2 production will use about a third of the energy required by current water splitting technologies. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Commercialization of photoelectrochemical cells for solar hydrogen production from water is challenging due to the competitive low cost of hydrogen derived from natural gas. Renewable (solar-derived) hydrogen from alternative sources with more favorable economics is therefore being explored. Currently, caustic scrubbers for H2S abatement from sour gas and wastewater produce NaHS, a hazardous commodity chemical that is produced in the Kraft process, to produce wood pulp from wood for the production of paper, tissues, cardboard, and similar end products. However, due to large transport distances between H2S sources and paper mills, oversupply of NaHS, or impurities in the NaHS, there are many scrubbers that produce a large excess of waste NaHS. To address this economic pain point, we have invented a regenerator system that uses a photoelectrochemical cell to split NaHS, producing saleable high-value commodity sulfur and renewably-derived hydrogen gas, while regenerating the NaOH so that it can be re-used for H2S adsorption. Our photoelectrochemical regeneration system uses sunlight to produce hydrogen from waste H2S using less than a third the energy that is required for H2O splitting, while simultaneously removing a hazardous caustic waste stream from the environment. For this project, we will build a proof-of-concept regenerator system that can be integrated into a regenerative scrubber prototype. This will accomplish three goals: Production of renewable hydrogen potentially using 1/3rd the energy of water splitting; Reduce the need for caustic scrubbers to continue to buy NaOH by regenerating it from NaHS; Eliminate waste NaHS economically by turning it into hydrogen fuel and non-hazardous sulfur. Intellectual property will be developed, and an analysis of end-user pain points and product-market fit will be accomplished by combining data from customer interviews, technical reports, and economic forecasts. Fields of science natural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistrynatural scienceschemical sciencesphysical chemistryphotochemistryengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyhydrogen energy Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2018-PoC - ERC Proof of Concept Grant Call for proposal ERC-2018-PoC See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant Host institution TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Net EU contribution € 150 000,00 Address SENATE BUILDING TECHNION CITY 32000 Haifa Israel See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 150 000,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Israel Net EU contribution € 150 000,00 Address SENATE BUILDING TECHNION CITY 32000 Haifa See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 150 000,00
