IIT Indore develops method to make pure hydrogen from plastic waste

This green fuel is believed to be enough to run a hydrogen-powered car for 100 kilometres.The Centre earlier this year gave the green signal to the National Green Hydrogen Campaign with a provision of Rs 19,744 crore to make India a global hub for production of the clean fuel.Under this ambitious campaign, India plans to develop an annual capacity of producing at least 50 lakh tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.An official from IIT Indore said that the institutes research on making green hydrogen from PET plastic waste can go a long way in helping India achieve this goal.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore has developed an easy and effective way to make pure hydrogen from PET plastic waste.

Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, is the most abundantly used polymer in the world. The bulk of PET plastic is used for single-use packaging materials like disposable bottles, consumer items and packaging.

According to the IIT Indore management, the development is the outcome of a three-year-long research. It can not only solve the global problem of disposal of plastic waste but also open up new avenues of “earning from waste”, said the institute.

India produced nearly 34.7 lakh tonnes of plastic waste during 2019-20, said the government had told the Lok Sabha last year. “We add tiny pieces of PET plastic, catalysts and other substances to water and heat it at 160 degrees Celsius. The 100 per cent pure hydrogen released from this chemical process is then collected,” Sanjay K Singh, a professor from the Department of Chemistry at IIT Indore, told PTI on Thursday.

Through this method, Singh said, 33 kg of PET plastic waste can be used to make one kilogram of pure hydrogen. This green fuel is believed to be enough to run a hydrogen-powered car for 100 kilometres.

The Centre earlier this year gave the green signal to the National Green Hydrogen Campaign with a provision of Rs 19,744 crore to make India a global hub for production of the clean fuel.

Under this ambitious campaign, India plans to develop an annual capacity of producing at least 50 lakh tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.

An official from IIT Indore said that the institute’s research on making green hydrogen from PET plastic waste can go a long way in helping India achieve this goal. India has set its sight on becoming energy independent by 2047 and achieving Net Zero by 2070.

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