Is there hydrogen to find under the Grisons mountains in Switzerland?
Thomas Stoiber / Alamy
Mountain chains could be a potential source of clean energy in the form of hydrogen not yet unexploited. While previous research has suggested this “geological” hydrogen Can be found undergroundResearchers have recently turned to the mountains as a possible store.
“Some minerals react with water and can generate hydrogen as a free green energy source,” explains Frank Zwaan At Helmholtz Center for Geosciences in Germany.
There are large quantities of such minerals on earth, but they are mainly deep under the surface in a layer known as a coat, he says, where they do not come into contact with water. But during the formation and uprising of mountain ranges, a certain rock of the mantle can be brought closer to the surface, where it can react with water in a process called serpentinization.
To get an idea of the potential for hydrogen training, Zwaan and his colleagues have modeled the uprising process, looking at the amount of material from the coat reaches areas where there are optimal temperatures and enough circulating water for this to happen. Their results support the idea that Large quantities of hydrogen could be generated In mountain ranges.
Serpentinization also occurs in the ridges of the middle of the ocean – Some people think that has led the origin of life – But it is unlikely that hydrogen will be trapped, explains Zwaan. Indeed, the temperature is less than 122 ° C (252 ° F), and any trapped hydrogen will be “consumed” by bacteria, but under the mountains, it is possible to pierce where the temperature is higher.
“Nothing wants to live there, it is therefore perfect for hydrogen to be preserved,” Zwaan told a meeting of the European Union of Geosciences in Vienna last week. “And there could even be another option, to explore what you can call hydrogen cuisine – the area where hydrogen is generated.”
The results of the model are supported by the first results of the studies of certain mountain channels. For example, Giant managschal At the University of Strasbourg, in France, confirmed that there was a production of hydrogen in the region of Grisons des Alpes in Switzerland. But it remains to be seen how much it remains to be seen, he said in Reunion. “Our research is just at the very beginning,” he said.
There is also hydrogen that infiltrates the northern Pyrenees, reported Alexandra Robert At the University of Toulouse, France. This research is also at an early stage.
