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Researchers develop green hydrogen from whisky wastewater
Pitchaimuthu became a part of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) at Heriot-Watt University in 2021
Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu / Image - Heriot-Watt University
Researchers, under the leadership of Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu at Heriot-Watt University, have developed materials that could potentially utilize wastewater from the distilling industry to produce green hydrogen.
The innovative approach could provide an environmentally friendly way to harness energy resources from industrial by-products.
Tamil Nadu-native Pitchaimuthu, a materials scientist at Heriot-Watt’s School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, explained, “It takes 9 kg (19 pounds) of water to produce every 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of green hydrogen. Meanwhile, every 1 litre of malt whisky production creates about 10 litres of residue.”
“To help protect the planet, we need to reduce our use of fresh water and other natural resources. Our research focused on how to use this distillery wastewater for green hydrogen production with a simple process that removes waste materials present in the water,” he added.
Pitchaimuthu and his research team created a nanoscale material, specifically a particle sized one in 10,000th the diameter of a human hair. This material, known as nickel selenide, enables the use of distillery wastewater instead of fresh water in the production of green hydrogen.
During the experiments, the nanoparticle effectively treated the wastewater and demonstrated slightly higher yields of green hydrogen compared to the results obtained using fresh water in the production process.
“About one billion litres of wastewater a year is produced from the distilling industry, so the potential of this process is huge,” Pitchaimuthu explained.
“Using industry wastewater means we can reduce the extensive freshwater footprint associated with green hydrogen production. Our research also shows how we can use the world’s resources more sustainably to produce clean energy,” he said.
Pitchaimuthu became a part of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) at Heriot-Watt University in 2021. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Bharathiar University, India. Following his doctoral studies, he took on the role of research assistant under Prof. Yong Soo Kang at the Center for Next Generation Dye-sensitized Solar Cells at Hanyang University, South Korea.
After 2011, he served as a visiting scientist at the Department of Applied Physics, University of Jaume I, Spain. Pitchaimuthu has successfully secured around £800,000 (US$1 million) in grant income, serving as either principal investigator (PI) or co-investigator (Co-I) from various funding agencies. His extensive research contributions include the publication of over 100 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and assistance with six book chapters.
The founder and chair of the ANEH Conference Series, Pitchaimuthu contributed as a panelist for discussions on the "Role of Indian Diaspora in Capacity Building for Affordable Solar Power,” a forum led by the Prime Minister of India as part of the Pravasiya Bhartiya Divas. In this capacity, he offers insights and expertise on the involvement of the Indian diaspora in advancing initiatives related to affordable solar power and capacity building.
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