UW Researchers Publish Article on Hydrogen Production Using Wastewater

Researchers at the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) published an article exploring the potential of wastewater usage for the hydrogen economy.

The paper, titled “Advancing hydrogen production: A comprehensive review of wastewater reforming techniques, feedstocks and opportunities,” published in the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, provides the first comprehensive review of integrating wastewater treatment with hydrocarbon reforming.

Robert Cincotta, an assistant research professional in SER’s Hydrogen Energy Research Center (H2ERC), served as lead author of the article along with Charles Nye, senior research professional in H2ERC, and Xiaokun Yang, assistant program director in charge of the Inorganic Isotopes and Actinide Chemistry Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Wastewater treatment is traditionally an energy-intensive necessity, often resulting in significant thermal loss. Simultaneously, hydrogen production via hydrocarbon reforming requires both water and intense heat. The authors show that combining these two processes is beneficial to both industries. By using wastewater as a feedstock, industries can both recycle the waste heat that would otherwise be lost and repurpose it for hydrogen generation.

“We already have the tools to treat wastewater and the tools to produce hydrogen,” Cincotta says. “By integrating these processes, we can minimize industrial waste and use existing thermal energy to fuel the hydrogen economy more efficiently.”

The research was inspired by a U.S. Department of Energy-funded project conducted in close collaboration with Williams, Engineering Procurement & Construction Inc., and LANL. This initiative integrates thermal desalination technology for produced water with autothermal or steam methane reforming. The partnership was further strengthened by Cincotta’s yearlong residency at Los Alamos, which helped forge deep institutional connections between H2ERC and the national lab.

“Despite the clear opportunities, the integration of reforming and wastewater has remained largely unexamined,” Cincotta says. “This new publication serves as an accessible resource that systematically catalogs catalytic reforming techniques and analyzes how common wastewater contaminants affect catalyst performance and longevity.”

The study also identifies three specific wastewater sources that are all abundant in Wyoming. By leveraging the massive volumes of water generated during oil and gas extraction, researchers can use oilfield-produced water as a viable feedstock. Similarly, geothermal wastewater offers the advantage of using natural thermal energy to drive the chemical reactions necessary for hydrogen production. Finally, mining and mineral processing drainage offers dual benefits by neutralizing hazardous contaminants and converting them into usable, high-value fuel.

“These wastewaters have typically been a disposal burden to Wyoming companies,” Nye says. “Since we need more water in the arid western U.S., it makes sense to clean up this water so it can be used in industrial, agricultural and other energy settings. By converting this disposal burden into a clean water benefit, we can boost water resources and support new hydrogen industries -- fertilizer, mine-blasting agents, synthetic fuels and other important chemicals."

To download the article, visit https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.116680, or to learn more about the active project, visit the H2ERC website.