Storing Energy In Methanol
German scientists have proposed using methanol to store hydrogen, which can be used for generating clean, renewable energy later on. The only problem is that it is difficult to extract the hydrogen from methanol when needed again.
Now that could change with a new catalyst that speeds up the methanol-decomposition process. The scientists at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg have found that catalysts of platinum on alumina coated with a layer of a molten salt mixture of lithium/potassium/caesium acetate would significantly boost the slow process. This would make any methanol storage technology more responsive. Non-coated catalysts of platinum on alumina were significantly less efficient.
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