A research team from Australia’s RMIT University has devised a new technique for sound wave-assisted electrolysis to produce green hydrogen more energy efficiently. In the journal Advanced Energy Materials, it was highlighted that with active and high-frequency vibrations, standard electrolysis produces 14 times more hydrogen.
Green hydrogen, often categorized as a fuel of the future, is produced through electrolysis: a water molecule is split into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy to draw each gas to a different electrode, where hydrogen can be captured, compressed, and stored. However, this process has been significantly improved when RMIT’s team introduced a hybrid sound wave of 10 MHz into the process. As soon as the sound vibrations were activated, it was proven experimentally that the current density and reaction rate jumped dramatically.
At RMIT, they explain that their major discovery does not mean that a specific amount of energy invested in electrolysis will yield 14 times more hydrogen, but rather that water is split into hydrogen and oxygen more quickly and easily. This, they emphasize, has an impressive effect on the overall efficiency of the electrolyzer and should encourage a decrease in the price of green hydrogen.
