Two students from South Africa studying at UCT are researching how to make cleaner household fuel from green hydrogen. These South African researchers are using green hydrogen to make LFG with an aim to deal with energy insecurity on the continent.

To cater to the needs of low-income households in sub-Saharan Africa, two South Africa-based students from the University of Cape Town (UCT) are researching green hydrogen.

Candace Eslick and Carla Mathyse from South Africa studying in UCT aim to create a cleaner cooking liquefied fuel gas (LFG) that can replace conventional energy sources like biomass, coal, and wood.

This Green-Quest project is funded by the German government and is valued at 4.6 million Euros ($5.7 million). With LFG health issues caused, harmful emissions released in the environment can be reduced to a large extent.

This will further improve the quality of life for women and children in the region. This green hydrogen research by Candace and Carla addresses energy insecurity in the continent and helps in achieving the net-zero emission target of South Africa.

Carla Mathyse said, “Energy insecurity is a huge problem in Africa, and climate change is a huge problem globally. This research is important because it addresses both issues.”

For this research project, making a catalyst or synthesizing the same for producing liquefied fuel gas is the responsibility of Mathyse. With this catalyst, feedstock of green H2 and CO2 is converted to LFG.

Mathyse is working towards increasing the life of the catalyst by modifying it. Once succeeded, LFG can be produced to cater to the needs of the economy as a whole.

Carla Mathyse stated, “The goal of the research is to use green hydrogen and carbon dioxide to create a new product called liquefied fuel gas (LFG). It is a ‘green version’ of LPG (liquified petroleum gas), which is commonly used for household heating and cooking. LFG could improve the quality of life for many people, by also helping individuals – primarily women and children, save more productive time that they would otherwise lose to collecting sources of fuel, such as wood.”

The primary focus for Candace Eslick is to develop the process to generate green LFG and for this, she uses a small-scale reactor in the lab. Using captured CO2 to generate fuel is also a part of her research.

In this context, Eslick said, “Cooking forms an integral part of our everyday lives. I think it is very important to be able to then make the energy necessary for cooking more available and accessible for households, particularly low-income households that do not have access to modern sources of energy.”

Also Read: Netherlands Intends to Build the World’s Largest Offshore Hydrogen Production Facility

The Green-QUEST association has partners including the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy in Germany.

According to student supervisor and director of the Catalysis Institute, Professor Jack Fletcher, “The Green-QUEST project is wholly funded by the German government, and the project – which is valued at €4.6 million ($5.7 million) – is part of the country’s commitments to the Just Energy Transition Partnerships. LFG has the potential to ultimately replace conventional energy sources such as coal, wood and waste that are typically used by low-income domestic households. Cleaner fuel for these households would aid in the reduction of environmental and health problems that result from air pollution due to burning coal, wood, and biomass.”

South African researchers are using green hydrogen to make LFG and with the success of Green-QUEST project an industrialization plan could be framed leading to more job opportunities. And overall, this will play an important part in the energy transition goals of South Africa to achieve net-zero emission by 2050.

Source: Candace Eslick LinkedIn Post

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Elliot is a passionate environmentalist and blogger who has dedicated his life to spreading awareness about conservation, green energy, and renewable energy. With a background in environmental science, he has a deep understanding of the issues facing our planet and is committed to educating others on how they can make a difference.

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