Hydrogen is one of the cleanest fuels available, exhibiting vast potential to be a crucial element in alleviating energy shortages and reducing the effects of climate change. The ongoing challenges with extracting hydrogen from water are associated with its relatively energy intensive process (>4.5 kWh mH2-3), high costs and need for a clean water source. The competition with clean water for drinking and agricultural purposes is increasingly seen as the critical barrier to widespread implementation of renewable hydrogen technologies.
The Project will undertake research activities to design and manufacture a unique scalable modular platform that can generate renewable hydrogen cost-effectively, requiring only sunlight and wastewater as feedstock. A flexible floating technology integrated with a catalytic membrane will combine photocatalysis with solar heat to produce renewable hydrogen from a body of wastewater.
School
Chemical Engineering
Research Area
Chemical engineering | Green hydrogen production | Photo(electro)catalysis | Renewable energy
Suitable for recognition of Work Integrated Learning (industrial training)?
No
- Research environment
- Expected outcomes
- Supervisory team
- Reference material/links
Our Particles and Catalysis Research Laboratory (PartCat) provides the excellent research facilities and environment to successfully execute this research program, including materials synthesis equipment, performance evaluation devices, and structural characterisation techniques. We also have access to the advanced materials characterisation facilities in the UNSW Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre.
This is a great opportunity for the student who is interested in renewable energy technologies and gaining hands-on experience in the research labs.
The expected outcomes from research activities are:
- Design and manufacture of catalyst materials;
- Fabrication of a scalable catalytic membrane to produce hydrogen in a photoreactor;
- Design, construct and optimise a working flexible floating device for solar-energy-driven hydrogen production.
The student is expected to gain experience in synthesizing and measuring the catalysis. The project will also provide an opportunity for the student to collaborate with other research students, gaining valuable interdisciplinary experience. The knowledge and data generated will contribute as input to industry stakeholders and will result in a publication in a scientific journal.
