Hydrogen Fuel from Formic Acid

Matthias Beller and his colleagues at the Leibniz Institute of Catalysis, in Rostock, claim to have found a way to convert formic acid into hydrogen gas at low temperatures.

The researchers say that the process could produce sufficient quantities for portable fuel cells.

The new process, which Beller and his colleagues outline in Angewandte Chemie, works at temperatures of 26 to 40 °C. The researchers mix formic acid with amines and expose the mixture to a ruthenium-based catalyst, which breaks down the acid into hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Source: Fuel Cell Today