Chinese scientists have developed a new technology to produce hydrogen from sewage by a process known as bacteriolysis.

Researchers with the Harbin Architecture Institute in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province said they can now produce 280 cubic meters of hydrogen gas that is 99 percent pure from a 50-cubic-meter container of sewage each day.

This means China can now produce hydrogen on an industrial scale, said Prof. Ren Nanqi, who heads the research group.

According to Ren and other experts, researchers in other countries have taken a different road for hydrogen production with biological technology, and no major breakthrough has been reported in their experiments.

Compared to the traditional electrolytic process or production of hydrogen from petroleum and other minerals, the new method saves energy and uses no minerals, which cannot be reproduced, Ren said.

What's more, he said, their method can purify sewage into clear water in the process of producing hydrogen.

Li Guibai, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, confirmed that the technology developed by Ren and his colleagues is leading the world in this field of research and may lead to the discovery of a clean and reproducible energy resource for mankind.