Hydrogen is expected to largely contribute to the near-future
circular
economy. Today, most hydrogen is still produced from fossil fuels
or renewable pathways with low efficiency and high cost. Herein, a
proof of concept for a novel hydrogen production process is proposed,
here named cyan hydrogen, inspired by a combination
of the green and blue processes, due to the key role played by water
and the low carbon content in the gas phase, respectively. The developed
novel process, recently patented and demonstrated at the lab scale,
is based on successive steps in which ethanol (5.0 mL) and water (10.0
mL) are alternately fed, with a fixed initial amount of sodium metaborate
(2.0 g), in a batch reactor at 300 °C. Preliminary results showed
the simultaneous production of a 95% v/v hydrogen stream, a polymeric
byproduct with a repetitive carbon pattern −CH2–CH2–, and a liquid phase rich in oxygenated chemicals
at temperatures lower than conventional hydrogen production processes.