Stinky gases emanating from landfills could transform into clean energy
Phys.org Aug 12, 2014
A new technique that transforms stinky, air-polluting landfill gas could produce the sweet smell of success as it leads to development of a fuel cell generating clean electricity for homes, offices and hospitals, researchers say. The advance would convert methane gas into hydrogen, an efficient, clean form of energy.
The researcher's report is part of the 248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Recently, hydrogen has received much attention as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide—the main greenhouse gas—when burned. Hydrogen, however, only emits water vapor when it is burned. For this reason, some companies are developing hydrogen fuel cells for automobiles and homes.
One way to do this is to convert methane, another greenhouse gas, to hydrogen by reacting it with carbon dioxide. And smelly landfills are excellent sources of these gases—microbes living in the waste produce large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide as by-products...
MORE: http://phys.org/news/2014-08-stinky-gases-emanating-landfills-energy.html