With the world’s ever-growing energy demands, many are looking to hydrogen fuel cells as a clean and efficient alternative to traditional fossil fuels.
However, a major challenge in the adoption of hydrogen fuel cells is the safe and efficient storage of the hydrogen gas. This is where common, Earth-abundant compounds like baking soda or sodium bicarbonate come in.
Scientists have been investigating the potential of baking soda as a storage material for hydrogen gas. They found that this simple salt could store hydrogen gas much more efficiently than current methods of gas compression or liquefaction.
Further to this, baking soda is a cheap and abundant material that can be easily produced on a large scale, making it a very practical solution.
The research on baking soda and hydrogen storage is still in the early stages, but the initial results look very promising. One study found that baking soda could store up to three times more hydrogen gas than compressed gas in a similar volume.
Another study showed that baking soda’s high surface area made it a great absorbent material for storing hydrogen. Besides this, baking soda has an added benefit in that it can act as a catalyst for certain hydrogenation reactions, further expanding its potential applications.
The use of baking soda as a storage material for hydrogen gas could be a game-changer in the hydrogen fuel industry. It offers a safe, efficient, and cost-effective solution to the hydrogen storage problem.
As research continues and technologies improve, we may soon see baking soda-powered vehicles on the road and baking soda-based hydrogen storage systems powering homes and businesses. The possibilities are endless.
The potential for baking soda as a storage material for hydrogen gas is very exciting. It’s a great example of how sometimes, the best solutions to complex problems can be found in the simplest and most abundant materials around us.
Edited by Zeng Han-Jun
Written by Juliana Rodriguez
Terra Link Research 