Sustainable Liquid-Organic-Hydrogen-Carrier-Based Hydrogen-Storage Technology Using Crude or Waste Feedstock/Hydrogen

For liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology to be competitive with other H₂-storage methods, it is crucial to reduce the cost of LOHC materials occupying the high proportion of the embodied energy required for system implementation. Promising approaches are to convert crude or waste feedstock into LOHC materials and to utilize crude hydrogen sources obtained from various routes. Thus, in this review, the state-of-the-art advances in sustainable LOHC-based hydrogen storage using crude or waste feedstock, associated with their conversion into LOHC materials, and coupling crude hydrogen with LOHC system to obtain high-purity H₂ without separation and purification are highlighted. Petroleum sources like light cycle oil and pyrolysis fuel oil are used after liquid–liquid extraction, combined distillation/hydroprocessing, and one-pot hydrotreating–hydrocracking. In case of converting renewable resources (e.g., biomass and plastic waste), depolymerization followed by hydrodeoxygenation is an effective approach. To utilize crude hydrogen sources for hydrogen storage, catalysts should be designed and synthesized toward activating LOHC hydrogenation reaction at lower temperatures, along with high CO resistance. Consequently, this context provides guidance for the development of LOHC technology to accelerate its commercialization.