This sounds very promising, both for refinery purposes as well as gas storage. Still not convinced that hydrogen is a good fuel though.

The team found a super-efficient way to mechanochemically trap and hold gases in powders, with potentially enormous and wide-ranging industrial implications. Mechanochemistry is a relatively recently coined term, referring to chemical reactions that are triggered by mechanical forces as opposed to heat, light, or electric potential differences. In this case, the mechanical force is supplied by ball milling – a low-energy grinding process in which a cylinder containing steel balls is rotated such that the balls roll up the side, then drop back down again, crushing and rolling over the material inside. This process could separate hydrocarbon gases out from crude oil using less than 10% of the energy that’s needed today. Distillation is responsible for 15% of global energy use.

The gas separation use case would be a pretty huge advance all by itself, but by storing gas securely in powders, the team believes it’s also unlocked a compelling way to store and transport hydrogen, which could play a key role in the coming clean energy transition. The powder can store a hydrogen weight percentage of 6.5%, which is 2x the current record.

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