Zhang Method Makes Low-Cost Hydrogen Biofuels At Three Times The Rate Of Other Methods

Thanks to a breakthrough discovery from a team of bioengineers at Virginia Tech, producing low-cost hydrogen biofuel may become a commercial reality.

According to the researchers, led by Y.H. Percival Zhang, this new method of hydrogen production can use any type of biomass to extract simple sugars that can be converted to hydrogen without dependence on heavy metals and with nearly zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The Zhang method successfully uses xylose, an abundant simple plant sugar, to produce hydrogen in quantities that previously had only ever been theorized about.  

Previous methods for hydrogen production are expensive and release significant greenhouse gasses, according to the statement released by Virginia Tech.

The findings suggest that hydrogen could be produced from biomass at low cost.

"The key to this exciting development is that Zhang is using the second most prevalent sugar in plants to produce this hydrogen," said Jonathan R. Mielenz of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who was not affiliated with the research. "This amounts to a significant additional benefit to hydrogen production and it reduces the overall cost of producing hydrogen from biomass."

Zhang said in a statement that hydrogen is one of the most important biomasses of the future and that the new process could help end fossil fuel dependence.

Vehicle that fun on hydrogen fuel cells are nothing new, but their high cost has limited them from ever been produced on a commercial scale.

Roads filled with hydrogen-powered vehicles would reduce pollution, as the only byproduct of a hydrogen powered vehicle is water.

The Zhang method could be brought to market use as early as three years from now, and when it does hit the market it has the potential to make significant economic impact.

"The potential for profit and environmental benefits are why so many automobile, oil, and energy companies are working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as the transportation of the future," Zhang said. "Many people believe we will enter the hydrogen economy soon, with a market capacity of at least $1 trillion in the United States alone."

 The key to the Zhang method lies separating a number of enzymes from their native microorganism to create a synthesized "enzyme cocktail" that does not occur in nature.  When combined with xylose and a polyphosphate, the enzyme cocktail liberates unprecedentedly high volumes of hydrogen from the xylose. Hydrogen production with the Zhang method creates three times as much hydrogen as other hydrogen-producing microorganisms.

The process requires low heat and normal atmospheric conditions, which results in a net energy gain.

"It really doesn't make sense to use non-renewable natural resources to produce hydrogen," Zhang said. "We think this discovery is a game-changer in the world of alternative energy."