By Imed Derouiche :Green Hydrogen from waste: Is it a dream ?

An energy vector with combustion generating only steam without gas release or greenhouse effect, Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, by reforming fossil resources (oil, gas and coal) but also and above all by converting all household, industrial, building and agri-food waste.

And it is in this capacity that hydrogen is presented as a bulwark against pollution because of its cleanliness and an economic, profitable energy vector with high employability potential due to the abundance of waste and the perfect control of its production techniques.

Producing 2.4 Million Tons of waste in Tunisia according to ANGED, of which only 4% is treated and recycled, waste represents an inexhaustible potential for hydrogen production through the perfect mastery of the processes of their gasification through the transformation of solid matter into synthetic gas and the reforming of biogas.

The opportunity lives up to the expectations of an energy-consuming country but devoid of oil resources and the exploitation of this hydrogen production track from waste will solve our problems of energy needs, meet our expectations of employability, will reduce hard currency export.

In addition to all these direct benefits, the production of hydrogen from waste and biomass will significantly offset our deficit in processing and recycling capacity estimated at 4% because all waste is eligible for gasification: wood residues, poultry manure, used frying oil, waste from the textile and agri-food industries, used tires, sewage sludge, fabrics, plastics and all other solid waste.

This gasification technique, which consists of heating waste to more than 1,000° with a small amount of oxygen, makes it possible to convert it either into gaseous hydrogen transportable by pipelines or into liquid hydrogen convertible into green Ammonia NH3, an essential component for chemical fertilizers. 2 solutions that can generate considerable foreign exchange resources thanks to their export potential.

The approach is bold but oh how beneficial both environmentally, economically and socially because, with this new approach to hydrogen production, we are moving to a circular economy that exploits and transforms waste constructively with the underlying objectives of opening up saturated landfills, purifying increasingly carbonized air and meeting renewable and clean energy needs that provide jobs and foreign exchange resources.

This will be a generous trend for municipalities buried under waste.

Imed Derouiche