Hydrogen Production

Hocking College Nelsonville, Ohio

One Advantage of using hydrogen

1.

One advantage is that it stores approximately 2.6 times the energy per unit mass as gasoline, and the disadvantage is that it needs about 4 times the volume for a given amount of energy. A 15 gallon automobile gasoline tank contains 90 pounds of gasoline. The corresponding hydrogen tank would be 60 gallons, but the hydrogen would weigh only 34 pounds.

Current global hydrogen production

48%
30% 18% 4%

from natural gas

from oil from coal

from electrolysis of water

Primary Uses for Hydrogen Today

1.

About half is used to produce ammonia (NH3) fertilizer.

The other half of current hydrogen production is used to convert heavy petroleum sources into lighter fractions suitable for use as fuels.

2.

Hydrogen Production Processes

Steam Methane Reforming Coal Gasification Partial Oxidation of Hydrocarbons Biomass Gasification Biomass Pyrolysis Electrolysis Thermochemical Photochemical Photobiological

Steam Methane Reforming

most

common method of producing commercial bulk hydrogen. Most common method of producing hydrogen used in the industrial synthesis of ammonia. It is the least expensive method. High temperature process (700 1100 C. Nickel based catalyst (Ni)

The Steam Methane Reforming Process

At 700 1100 C and in the presence of a nickel based catalyst (Ni), steam reacts with methane to yield carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

CH4 + H2O CO + 3 H2

Additional hydrogen can be recovered by a lower-temperature gas-shift reaction with the carbon monoxide produced. The reaction is summarized by:

CO + H2O CO2 + H2

Purification of Hydrogen
Carbon

dioxide and other impurities are removed from the gas stream, leaving essentially pure hydrogen.
reaction (Heat must be added to the reactants for the reaction to occur.)

Endothermic

Schematic of the SMR Process

H 2O
Water Methane Gasoline Ethanol Methanol
REFOR MER 10% CO 2,000 ppm CO <100 ppm CO

WATER GAS SHIFT REACTOR

REMOVAL OF CO AND CO2

H2
FUEL CELL STACK

O2

Coal Gasification

well-established commercial technology

competitive with SMR only where oil and/or natural gas are expensive. coal could replace natural gas and oil as the primary feedstock for hydrogen production, since it is so plentiful in the world.

Partial Oxidation Hydrocarbons

process

can be used to produce hydrogen from heavy hydrocarbons such as diesel fuel and residual oil.
hydrocarbon feedstock that can be compressed or pumped may be used in this technology.

Any

Partial Oxidation
methane

and other hydrocarbons in natural gas are reacted with a limited amount of oxygen (typically, from air) that is not enough to completely oxidize the hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water. + O2 CO + 2H2 (+heat) reaction (heat is evolved)

CH4

Exothermic

Schematic of Partial Oxidation

Partial Oxidation Plant Diagram

Thermochemical Production of Hydrogen

When

water is heated to above 2500 oC, it separates into oxygen and hydrogen in a process known as thermolysis. at such high temperatures, it is difficult to prevent the oxygen and hydrogen from recombining to form water.

However,

Thermochemical Production of Hydrogen

Thermochemical water-splitting cycles can lower the temperature and help separate oxygen and hydrogen products to produce pure hydrogen gas. These cycles can improve the efficiency of hydrogen production from 30% for conventional electrolysis to around 50% efficiency One of the most promising cycles so far is the sulfur-iodine (S-I) cycle.

 Sulfur

dioxide (SO2 ) and iodine (I2) are fed into the cycle as chemical catalysts..
catalyst lowers the activation energy of a reaction without being used up by the reaction.

Sulfur-Iodine Thermochemical Cycle

In

this cycle, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and iodine (I2) are feed into the cycle as a chemical catalyst. catalyst lowers the temperature at which the reaction will occur without being used up by the reaction.

There are three steps in the S-I cycle

Step I2

1: 2HI + H2SO4

+ SO2 + 2H2O

The The

reaction is run at 120 degrees C.

hydrogen iodide and sulfuric acid are separated, usually by distillation.

 Step

2: of oxygen and regeneration of

Generation

SO2.
H2SO4 This

H2O + SO2 + 1/2 O2

reaction is run at 850 degrees C.

 Step

3: Generation of hydrogen and regeneration of I

2HI

H2 + I2

This

reaction is run at 450 degrees C.

SulfurIodine Cycle
These

reactions can reduce the high temperature demands of the thermolysis of water for the production of hydrogen gas and can provide a mechanism for the separation of oxygen and hydrogen products to prevent recombination.

Source: Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology

Biomass Production of Hydrogen

Hydrogen can be produced numerous ways from biomass. Biomass is defined as a renewable resource made from renewable materials. Examples of biomass sources include: >switchgrass >plant scraps >garbage >human wastes Gasification of biomass could be a way of extracting hydrogen from these organic sources.

Biomass Production of Hydrogen

The biomass is first converted into a gas through high-temperature gasifying. The hydrogen rich vapor is condensed in pyrolysis oils. These oils can be steam reformed to generate hydrogen. This process has resulted in hydrogen yields of 12% - 17% hydrogen by weight of the dry biomass. When biological waste material is used as a feedstock, this process becomes a completely renewable, sustainable method of hydrogen generation.

Electrolysis

Electrolysis is the technical name for using electricity to split water into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen. The splitting of water is accomplished by passing a DC electric current through water. The electricity enters the water at the cathode, a negatively charged terminal, passes through the water and exists via the anode, the positively charged terminal. The hydrogen is collected at the cathode and the oxygen is collected at the anode. Electrolysis produces very pure hydrogen for use in the electronics, pharmaceutical and food industries

Electrolysis
The

hydrogen is collected at the cathode and the oxygen is collected at the anode.
produces very pure hydrogen for use in the electronics, pharmaceutical and food industries.

Electrolysis

Photobiological

This method involves using sunlight, a biological component, catalysts and an engineered system. Specific organisms, algae and bacteria, produce hydrogen as a byproduct of their metabolic processes. These organisms generally live in water and therefore are biologically splitting the water into its component elements. Currently, this technology is still in the research and development stage and the theoretical sunlight conversion efficiencies have been estimated up to 24%.