Australian researchers unlock path to scaling gas made from waste
New research has shown how Australian energy companies and waste management firms can safely turn organic waste, such as food scraps, sewage and animal waste, into clean gas for homes and businesses.
University of Melbourne
image:
From left: Mr Sharin Fernando, Professor Mohsen Talei and Mr Kha Meng Ng.
view moreCredit: University of Melbourne.
New research has shown how Australian energy companies and waste management firms can safely turn organic waste, such as food scraps, sewage and animal waste, into clean gas for homes and businesses.
Led by Professor Mohsen Talei from the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, the research team identified the critical specifications for optimal biomethane quality, making it more cost effective to produce and informing the latest update of Australian Standards for use by energy producers.
The revised standard now recognises biomethane as a natural gas equivalent and introduces new contaminant limits. It gives distributors, manufacturers and regulators a shared foundation to work from and clears the path for biomethane to enter Australia's gas networks safely and at scale.
“Converting waste into renewable energy supports circular-economy principles, reduces methane emissions and capitalises on existing gas infrastructure serving millions of homes and industries,” Professor Talei said.
Funded by Future Fuels CRC, the team used computer modelling and built a custom-made burner to understand how tiny compounds found in biomethane, a renewable gas, affect everyday appliances, in a push to facilitate scaling this repurposed energy source.
Biomethane, or Renewable Natural Gas, is a near-pure source of methane derived from organic waste broken down by microorganisms in oxygen-free tanks, to produce biogas. It can replace fossil natural gas for heating, electricity and transport, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The fuel crisis has put pressure on Australia’s energy system, driving a 42% surge in EV sales during March, but electrification alone cannot replace all fossil fuels, particularly for heavy transport and industry use.
A NSW demonstration project, the Malabar Biomethane Facility, has proved that biomethane can be upgraded and safely injected into Australia’s gas pipelines. According to a Blunomy and Energy Networks Australia study, Australia could potentially recover enough biomethane from waste to offset 96 per cent of the East Coast’s demand for gas, purifying biomethane to scale its use nationally is a demanding process.
“One of the main challenges is fully removing a compound named siloxane, which comes from household products like deodorants and shampoos. When burned in biomethane, siloxane leaves a glass-like coating on appliances, making them less effective and damaging them over time,” Professor Talei said.
“Our research findings help to determine exactly how much siloxane needs to be removed to nationally scale the use of biomethane as an energy source.”
The team simulated how gas flow, temperature and chemical reactions influence the formation of this glass-like coating under a wide range of conditions.
“By combining simulation outcomes and experimental data, we developed a framework to predict how much siloxane can be present for appliances to still run reliably, even at concentrations too low to study experimentally,” he said.
Professor Talei and his team are now in discussions with an industry partner to support further research and a wider adoption of biomethane.
Journal
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Numerical investigation of silica nanoparticle formation and thermophoretic deposition during siloxane-containing biomethane combustion
Turning waste biomass into hydrogen and value-added chemicals
Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) develop electrochemical system for simultaneous production using waste glycerol
National Research Council of Science & Technology
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Schematic illustration of the 79 cm² large-area anion exchange membrane electrolyzer system developed by the research team, along with performance evaluation results showing Faradaic efficiency toward formate and hydrogen production.
view moreCredit: Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS)
# A next-generation electrochemical system has been developed that enables the simultaneous production of hydrogen and value-added chemicals using waste glycerol, with the findings published in the leading energy journal Joule.
# Reduces energy costs for hydrogen production while enabling the co-production of chemical feedstocks, thereby enhancing the economic viability of green hydrogen.
CHANGWON, South Korea — Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), led by President Chul-jin Choi, announced that a research team led by Juchan Yang, principal researcher at KIMS, in collaboration with Professor Ji-Wook Jang, Hankwon Lim, and Hosik Lee of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), has developed a high-efficiency electrochemical system that simultaneously produces hydrogen and value-added chemicals using glycerol, a low-cost, abundant byproduct of biodiesel production. This study is significant in that it replaces the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a key bottleneck in conventional water electrolysis, thereby reducing the overall cell voltage and improving energy efficiency and expanding the scope of electrochemical conversion technologies.
Hydrogen is gaining attention as a key energy source in the carbon-neutral era, and various water electrolysis technologies have been actively developed for its eco-friendly production. However, conventional electrolysis systems suffer from limitations due to the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode, which requires high energy input and exhibits slow kinetics, thereby reducing overall process efficiency and economic feasibility.
To address these challenges, the research team developed an anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) system that utilizes glycerol as an alternative feedstock and applies the glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) at the anode as a paired electrolysis strategy. Glycerol, an abundant and low-cost byproduct of biodiesel production, enables the reaction to proceed at lower energy input compared to conventional water electrolysis. The team also employed a copper–cobalt-based non-precious metal catalyst, achieving high catalytic activity and stability without relying on expensive noble metals. The system demonstrated a high current density of 110 mA/cm² at a relatively low cell voltage of 1.31 V.
Notably, this technology enables the simultaneous production of hydrogen and chemical feedstocks such as formate, distinguishing it from conventional water electrolysis processes that produce only hydrogen. The system achieved a high selectivity of approximately 96% toward the target chemical product (formate), and stable performance was confirmed in a large-area electrolyzer cell of 79 cm², demonstrating its potential for practical industrial applications.
This technology represents a promising electrochemical platform that simultaneously produces hydrogen and chemical feedstocks using waste bio-resources, offering both reduced production costs for green hydrogen and improved resource utilization efficiency. In particular, it presents a carbon-neutral production strategy that integrates energy and chemical manufacturing processes, with the potential to replace conventional separated production systems. Furthermore, the system is scalable to continuous operation and megawatt (MW)-scale applications, highlighting its potential as a practical technology for industrial deployment.
“This study demonstrates the large-scale synthesis of low-cost, non-precious metal catalysts and validates their performance in commercially relevant electrolyzer systems for the simultaneous production of hydrogen and chemical feedbacks.” said Juchan Yang, principal researcher at Korea Institute of Materials Science. Professor Ji-Wook Jang of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology added, “Technologies that convert bio-derived byproducts such as glycerol into value-added chemicals represent a key strategy for simultaneously advancing carbon neutrality and the hydrogen economy.”
This research was supported by national R&D programs funded by the National Research Council of Science and Technology, Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, National Research Foundation of Korea, and Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology. Advanced analysis and computational studies were conducted using the supercomputing infrastructure of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information and the synchrotron radiation facilities of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. The findings were published online on March 18, 2026, in the leading energy journal Joule (Impact Factor: 35.4).
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About Korea Institute of Materials Science(KIMS)
KIMS is a non-profit government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea. As the only institute specializing in comprehensive materials technologies in Korea, KIMS has contributed to Korean industry by carrying out a wide range of activities related to materials science including R&D, inspection, testing&evaluation, and technology support.
Journal
Joule
Article Title
Commercial-scale glycerol valorization using surface-modified copper cobalt oxide catalyst in high-capacity anion exchange membrane electrolyzer
Schematic illustration of the synthesis process of the copper–cobalt oxide catalyst developed by the research team, along with a comparison of electrochemical glycerol conversion performan
Credit
Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS)
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