{
  "patent_number": "US 9574276",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Making Hydrogen Gas from Sulfur Dioxide and Water at Low Temperatures",
  "original_title": "Production of low temperature electrolytic hydrogen",
  "summary": "This patent describes a method for producing hydrogen gas using an electrochemical cell that reacts gaseous sulfur dioxide and water at a relatively low temperature, generating protons that become hydrogen.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent details a process for making hydrogen gas using an electrochemical cell. The cell has an anode, a cathode, and a membrane separating them. A voltage is applied across the anode and cathode. Gaseous sulfur dioxide (SO2) is fed to the anode, and water (H2O) is fed to the cathode. A portion of the water travels through the membrane to the anode. At the anode, the SO2 reacts with the H2O in the gas phase, with the H2O being the limiting reactant, to produce sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and hydrogen protons (H+). These protons then pass through the membrane to the cathode, where they are reduced to form hydrogen gas. For instance, this process could be used to convert sulfur dioxide, a common industrial emission, into valuable hydrogen fuel.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover hydrogen production methods that do not use an electrochemical cell with a membrane separating the anode and cathode.",
    "Does not cover processes where gaseous sulfur dioxide (SO2) is not fed to the anode as a reactant.",
    "Does not cover hydrogen production where water (H2O) is not the limiting reactant in the anode reaction.",
    "Does not cover methods where the specific reaction SO2 + 2H2O → H2SO4 + 2H+ + 2e− does not occur at the anode.",
    "Does not cover high-temperature hydrogen production, as the claims specify operation at 80° Celsius or below."
  ],
  "filed": "2015-05-12",
  "granted": "2017-02-21",
  "expires": "2035-05-12",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "University of South Carolina",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/university-of-south-carolina",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "John W. Weidner",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/john-w-weidner"
    },
    {
      "name": "Charles E. Holland",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/charles-e-holland"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 2,
  "tags": [
    "energy",
    "chemical_manufacturing",
    "sustainable_technology",
    "materials"
  ],
  "abstract": "In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a process for electrochemical hydrogen production is provided. The process includes providing an electrochemical cell with an anode side including an anode, a cathode side including a cathode, and a membrane separating the anode side from the cathode side. The process further includes feeding molecules of at least one gaseous reactant to the anode, oxidizing one or more molecules of the gaseous reactant at the anode to produce a gas product and protons, passing the protons through the membrane to the cathode, and reducing the protons at the cathode to form hydrogen gas.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9574276/production-of-low-temperature-electrolytic-hydrogen",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9574276/production-of-low-temperature-electrolytic-hydrogen/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US9574276",
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}