Scientists working in England and Belgium have come up with low-cost ways of extracting hydrogen from either very dirty water or from the air around us. If these breakthrough technologies pan out, they could set us on a different path to energy independence. Hydrogen is the futurist’s dream fuel, non-polluting and emitting only water vapor. But it’s been hampered by its high cost of production and sourcing from natural gas. Cleaning Water and Making Clean Fuel Researchers at the University of Warwick have found a “two-fer” that cleans waste water and produces a clean fuel. They note the following caveat and a promising development from their research: “Wastewater treatment is vital to remove pathogens, but is incredibly energy intensive. The ability to treat it more sustainably is a challenge researchers from WMG, University of Warwick have been able to achieve, using recycled carbon fiber mats to produce hydrogen from waste water.” The new method would reduce energy use since treating …
