Invention of a new way to produce Hydrogen for Energy
Posted February 6th, 1998

The following email arrived on February 7th;

Good news from Spain. A Chemical Research group has discovered a new way to extract Hydrogen from water. It is very different from actual methods, and is based on the interaction of a Molybdenum (Mo) compound. The complete process has yet to be published, but details were posted today (02/06), it is very promising. You can see the announcement on the University of Valencia page at:

http://www.uv.es/~premsa/notes/cervilla.htm

The page is written in Valenciano, a local language.


The following is a very rough translation I made from the file posted at the URL above. I tried the Alta Vista translator for Spanish, Portugese and even Italian, but none worked. No doubt errors abound, but it might be a bit clearer.
Investigators at the University of Valencia have developed a new procedure to decompose water.

Two scientists at the University of Valencia, Antonio Cervilla and Elisa Llopis, have presented their revolutionary discovery of a method to decompose water into its constituent gases. Other scientists, members of the Institute of Science & Materials at the University of Valencia, and Director Daniel Beltran, have affirmed the discovery of a new invention to obtain hydrogen to generate energy without contaminants.

Dr. Cervilla and Dr. Llopis carried out a diversity of experiments using catalyzers based on molybdenum, a transition? metal. The discovery made the decomposition of water possible, allowing the extraction of energy from the prodigious production of hydrogen.

The explicit discovery came about from an investigation into the decomposition reaction of molybdenum which resulted in a study of the reaction with the possibility of a new means of decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The results obtained showed it was effectively a catalysis process.

The molybdenum catalyzer dissolves on contact with water to produce a reaction that is transparent/independent of ambient temperature, producing a current of gas which is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.

The enormous importance and potential of this process to produce energy from hydrogen in a controlled combustion cannot be overstated.

Dr. Elisa Llopia and Dr. Antonio Cervilla say the molbydenum combusts the water in a catalytic process.

Investigators central to the experiment are also producing results.

Professor Antonio Cervillo, age 50, works in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Valencia. He has published over 50 articles in international publications. He is the director of investigations for the CICIT Project.

Professor Elisa Llopis, age 42, works in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Valencia.

University of Valencia, February 6th, 1998
The following is an English report of the experiment with a bit more information.

Spanish scientists claim to extract energy from water

MADRID (February 7, 1998 10:08 a.m. EST - Two scientists at the university of Valencia, eastern Spain, claim to have found a low-cost means of extracting hydrogen from water, creating a possible substitute for petrol, press reports said Saturday.

Spanish daily newspapers El Pais and La Vanguardia reported that the researchers Antonio Cervilla and Elisa Llopis have perfected a catalytic converter capable of separating oxygen and hydrogen molecules in water at a low cost.

The method, which uses a chemical product derived from molybdenum but not electricity, could yield hydrogen suitable for use as an alternative fuel to petrol, claim the researchers.

"Hydrogen extracted from a half-litre of water can fuel a car from Bilbao to Valencia," or 390 miles, El Pais quoted Cervilla as saying.

But several experts consulted about the apparent discovery remain sceptical about whether such a method, if feasible, would be really cost-efficient.

Other methods already exist to separate oxygen from hydrogen in water, but all need electricity and are too costly for wider use, state the experts.