The process of separating useful molecules from mixtures of other substances accounts for 15% of the nation’s energy, emits 100 million tons of carbon dioxide and costs $4 billion annually.

Commercial manufacturers produce columns of porous materials to separate potential new drugs developed by the pharmaceutical industry, for example, and also for energy and chemical production, environmental science and making foods and beverages.

But in a new study, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found these manufactured separation materials don’t function as intended because the pores are so packed with polymer they become blocked. That means the separations are inefficient and unnecessarily expensive.

A new way of creating hydrogen, which eliminates direct CO₂ emissions at source, has been developed by an international team of scientists.

The process reacts hydrogen-rich and sustainably sourced bioethanol taken from agricultural waste with water at just 270°C using a new bimetallic catalyst. Unlike traditional methods, which operate between 400°C and 600°C, are energy-intensive and generate large amounts of CO₂, the catalyst shifts the chemical reaction to create hydrogen without releasing carbon dioxide as a byproduct.

Instead, the process co-produces high-value acetic acid, an organic liquid used in food preservation, household cleaning products, manufacturing and medicine, and has an annual global consumption exceeding 15 million tons.