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Science & Tech.
Pradeep Kumar

07/07/21 11:05 AM IST

Wealth from Waste

In news

Scientists have shown that the spent catalysts from the energy industry or the raw material for recycling operation that deliver fresh catalysts and valuable metals work as an efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst and can catalyze the core reactions that facilitate the operation of metal-air batteries.

Details
  • It can help develop new strategies for effectively using industrial waste for energy storage in batteries paving the way to realize the dream of achieving ‘today's waste is tomorrow's energy’.
  • Hydrogen energy offers a promising power generation route for the industry and transport sectors due to high energy density and clean output.
  • One of the ways to produce hydrogen is by catalytic decomposition of methane using nickel catalyst embedded on alumina or zeolite.
  • After several runs, the catalysts get spent due to carbon choking and lose their activity.
  • The spent catalysts are typically subjected to energy-intensive processes such as high-temperature combustion for recycling, releasing a large amount of COx into the atmosphere during the process or chemical treatment for the reclamation of metal constituents.
  • These protocols are neither economically viable nor environmentally friendly, thus demanding alternative avenues to efficiently use the spent catalyst.
  • One of the best possible routes is to use the retrieved spent catalyst for energy generation/storage applications.
  • The composition of the given spent catalyst, Carbon nanotubes with Ni nanoparticles and porous alumina, may be ideal for direct use as electrocatalyst in electrochemical energy applications and thus, opens up a viable strategy for converting waste to wealth.
Source: PIB

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