How the whisky industry could help provide
sustainable fuel for the future
Heriot-Watt University has developed materials that can use waste water from distilleries to produce green hydrogen, a renewable energy source that does not produce carbon when burned. Green hydrogen is typically produced using fresh water, which consumes around 20.5 billion liters of water annually. The team aims to use some of the estimated one billion liters of waste water produced by the distilling industry to create green hydrogen instead.
Dr. Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu, a materials scientist at the university's School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, developed a nanoscale material called nickel selenide, which treats the waste water and produces similar or slightly higher quantities of green hydrogen during research compared to fresh water. The research was published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Sustainable Energy & Fuels, and is funded by Heriot-Watt's School of Engineering and Physical Sciences. The team will also analyze distillery waste water to discover if other valuable materials could be salvaged from it, alongside hydrogen and oxygen.
Questions:1. How is Heriot-Watt University using waste water from distilleries to produce green hydrogen?
2. What is the advantage of using waste water instead of fresh water to produce green hydrogen?
3. Who developed the nanoscale material called nickel selenide for treating waste water?
4. How is the research on using waste water for green hydrogen production funded?
How might the use of nickel selenide contribute to more sustainable use of the world's resources for clean energy production?
5. Do you oppose or negate this process?
Why? Why not? What do you think of whiskey?
Do you drink it?
