News Energy
Slurry as a source of green hydrogen
It is well known in the agricultural sector that animal manure is not only a problem but also a valuable raw material. Besides the use as fertilizer for growing crops and manure fermentation for the production of biogas, there are more possibilities. For example, hydrogen can be extracted from slurry.
The German company Grafforce has developed a special plasma lyzer for splitting slurry. By passing the manure through a high-frequency electric voltage field (plasmalysis), the manure is split into individual carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The released gases are captured and stored.
Hydrogen can be used as a fuel and the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen are interesting raw materials for industrial applications. The residual product left over from the process is water, according to Grafforce.
Great potential
Graforce founder Jens Hanke thinks that hydrogen from manure has great potential. "With plasmalysis of organic waste streams, we can make enormous amounts of green hydrogen. By using the extracted hydrogen as a fuel, we create a large amount of fossil-free fuel and make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions." By using the manure for this application, a reduction in nitrogen emissions from the agricultural sector can also be achieved.
The plasmalysis of manure requires approximately 50% less energy than the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. Linking the plasma lyzer to solar panels and/or windmill(s) makes it possible to produce hydrogen without CO2 emissions. An additional advantage is that the green electricity generated is then stored, as it were. Technology can therefore play an important role in the energy transition.
Practical application
Vehicles that run on pure hydrogen are still available to a very limited extent. To use the self-generated hydrogen, it can be added to biogas or compressed natural gas (CNG). The conversion of an existing combustion engine is more practical and much cheaper than switching to fuel cells. With the addition of approximately 10% hydrogen, existing vehicles that run on gas are also suitable for hydrogen. In addition, heating installations that normally operate on natural gas or propane are also suitable for the addition of hydrogen.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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