Neither of us likes the smell of the gas from sewers. Nobody would have ever guessed that it shall become possible to transform such gas into clean hydrogen fuel, but science is there once again to prove to us all that it has an ace up its sleeve.
According to SciTechDaily, scientists found a way to transform sewer gas into hydrogen fuel. How can such a thing be possible? Well, the entire procedure requires a relatively cheap material: iron sulfide with an addition of molybdenum. The sewer gas is scientifically known as hydrogen sulfide, and it smells worst than most people can even imagine. As you’ve already guessed, inhaling it can affect your health very badly.
Exploiting a very harmful gas
Lang Qin, who is a co-author on the study and also a research associate in chemical and biomolecular engineering from The Ohio State University, declared as quoted by SciTechDaily.com:
Hydrogen sulfide is one of the most harmful gases in industry and to the environment,
And because the gas is so harmful, a number of researchers want to turn hydrogen sulfide into something that is not so harmful, preferably valuable.
Hydrogen sulfide is also a colorless chalcogen hydride gas that is flammable, poisonous, and corrosive. The chemical compound is soluble in water and alcohol. Since hydrogen sulfide is a respiratory tract irritant and a mucous membrane, exposing yourself to high concentrations of it will cause immediate or delayed pulmonary edema. Breathing high levels can cause loss of consciousness and even death after some breaths.
The same scientific group responsible for the transformation mentioned above has been involved in some related work when a process known as chemical looping was used. It involved the addition of metal oxide particles in reactors of high-pressure for burning fuels without the need for direct contact between fuel and air.
