Recent developments in renewable energy technology have made it possible to convert furfural into hydrogen. Furfural is a naturally occurring organic compound that is often used as a fuel source. This new strategy, reported in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, has the potential to provide an efficient and cost-effective way to produce hydrogen from furfural.

The research team, led by Dr. Jingjing Wang from the Institute of Process Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used a metal-organic framework (MOF) to convert furfural into hydrogen. The MOF was composed of zirconium metal clusters and organic molecules, which are connected to form a porous structure. This structure was used to catalyze the reaction of furfural, which broke down the compound into its components, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The researchers found that the reaction was highly efficient, with nearly 70% of the furfural being converted into hydrogen.

This new strategy could provide a significant benefit for renewable energy production, as it offers a way to produce hydrogen from a readily available and renewable source. The team is now working on optimizing the process to further increase the efficiency of the reaction and make it more cost-effective.

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source: Phys.org