HyperSolar, a company developing an innovative nanotechnology process to generate renewable natural gas and hydrogen utilizing solar power and water, has released the initial test results that confirm the compatibility of paper mill wastewater with the company’s breakthrough technique that imitates photosynthesis to generate hydrogen from water.
HyperSolar’s inexpensive nanotechnology process generates hydrogen from wastewater by fundamentally engineering the reaction kinetics. The HyperSolar nanoparticles act as one-way machines, which generate pure hydrogen and clean water by detoxifying wastewater in the presence of sunlight. Since the technology eliminates the need of other energy source, it is a highly economical and commercially feasible method for manufacturing zero-carbon, renewable hydrogen.
The Chief Executive Officer at HyperSolar, Tim Young stated that the company’s main objective was to prove the usability of a traditional photovoltaic cell to generate hydrogen from negative or free economic value feedstocks. The pulp and paper industry uses huge volumes of water and releases large amounts of wastewater per ton of paper. This high-pH wastewater consisting of volatile organics and chlorinated compounds must be treated prior to being discharged or reused.
Young further said that the company believes that its photosynthesis process to produce hydrogen will prove cost effective, thanks to the use of low-cost reactors and negative value feedstocks like wastewater.
Recently, the University of California, Santa Barbara and HyperSolar have inked a yearlong sponsored research deal to ramp up the development process and to ensure that key milestones of the company are achieved.