Hydrogen Energy

Benefits of hydrogen energy

• One of the most attractive features of an hydrogen as

an energy carrier is that it can be produced from
water .
• Hydrogen has the highest energy content per unit of
mass of any chemical fuel
• Its burning process is non polluting and it can be used
in the fuel cells to produce both electricity and useful
energy and it can be substituted for hydrocarbons in a
broad range of applications.
• Use of hydrogen as an energy source involves five basic
issues:
• 1)Production
• 2)storage and transportation
• 3)Utilisation
• 4)Safety and management
• 5)Economy
• Longer term applications are for electrical power
producing fuel cells.
• It can be used as a fuel for gas turbine or for a spark
ignition engine.
• When used in aircrafts it reduces the take off load
considerably.
• One of the potential advantages of hydrogen as a
secondary fuel is that it can be transmitted and
distributed by pipe line in much the same way as
natural gas.
• On a smaller scale hydrogen gas could be compressed
into transportable cylinders.
• Important aspect of hydrogen utilization it is
accompanied by little or no atmospheric pollution.
Hydrogen production
• The methods of producing hydrogen may be
classified according to the immediate source of
addition of energy to decompose thus electrical
energy(in electrolysis) ,heat energy(in thermo
chemical methods) fossil fuels and solar energy
Electrolysis or the electrolytic production of hydrogen
• Two types of electrode arrangements are used by
industry for the electrolysis of water
• i)Tank type electrolyser
• Ii)Filter press or bipolar electrolyser
i)Tank type electrolyser
• In this a series of alternating anodes and cathodes are
suspended vertically and parallel to one another in a
tank filled with a 20-30% solution of potassium
hydroxide in demineralised water.
• Alternated electrodes usually the cathodes are
surrounded by porous diaphragms.
• The major advantages of tank type electrolysers are
two fold relatively few parts are required and those
needed are relatively inexpensive and individual cells
may be isolated for repair or replacement easily.
• The disadvantages of the tank electrolysers
are:
• i)inability to handle high current densities
because of cheaper component parts
• Ii)inability to operate at high temperatures
because of heat losses from the large surface
areas of connected cells.
•
Ii)Filter press or bipolar electrolyser
• The alternative and more widely used water
electrolysis system called the filter press electrolyser.
• Except at the ends of the cell, the electrodes are
bipolar i.e. one face of each late electrode is an anode
and other face is the cathode.
• As in the tank system porous diaphragms between
adjacent electrodes prevent mixing of the hydrogen
and oxygen gases.
• In the filter press electrolyser the cells are connected
in series with an anode at the one end and cathode at
the other end of the series.
• The total voltage required is then approximately 2C
volts where C is the number of cells in series.
• It is usually desirable to circulate electrolyte through
the cell to separate the gas and the electrolyte and in
many designs this is accomplished in a separating
drum mounted on the top of the electrolyte.
• This type of electrolyser is generally preferred
because it occupies less space and can be operated at
a higher current density than the tank type.
• But it has certain limitations like it requires a much
closer tolerance in construction and are more difficult
to maintain.
Thermochemical methods
• A higher efficiency is possible if the heat produced by
the primary fuel could be used directly to decompose
water without the intermediator of electrical energy
• Such direct decomposition of hydrogen and oxygen is
possible but it requires a high temperature upto 2500°C.
• Because of temperature limitations and conversion
process equipment direct single step water
decomposition cannot be achieved
• However a sequential chemical reaction can be devised
in which hydrogen and oxygen are produced ,water is
consumed and all other chemical intermediates are
recycled.
• The operation is called thermochemical cycle ,it is so
called because energy is supplied as heat at one or
more of the chemical stages.
• In the reaction series water is taken up at one stage
and hydrogen and oxygen are produced separately in
different stages.
• For practical reasons primarily the availability
structural and containment materials ,the maximum
temperature in the thermochemical cycle is
considered to be about 950°C.Heat energy should
then be convertible into hydrogen energy with an
efficiency around 50%.
• At present no commercial process for the thermal
splitting of water to hydrogen and oxygen is in
operation. Several workers have proposed many
multistep reaction sequence that thermally
decompose water at lower overall temperatures
• An example of such a reaction is as follows:
• 2CrCl2 +2HCl 2CrCl3 +H2 (325°C)
• 2CrCl3  2CrCl2 +Cl2 (875°C)
• H2O + Cl2  2HCl +0.5O2 (850°C)

• As can be seen in this reaction sequences only water

is split and all other materials are completely recycled
Fossil fuel methods
• A mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is formed in the
first stage , in the production of hydrogen by using a fossil fuel
• To remove carbon dioxide the mixture is submitted to the water
gas shift reaction with steam.The carbon monoxide is thereby
converted into carbon dioxide with the formation of additional
hydrogen
• CO+H2O= CO2+H2+1440kJ/kg
• The carbon dioxide is an acid gas that can be absorbed in an
alkaline medium.
• The iron steam process is designed to use air, steam and coal
char to make hydrogen essentially free from nitrogen and also
from carbon monoxide .
• Fe +H2O  FeO+H2
• The iron is recovered from the oxide in a separate
vessel and returned for further reaction in steam.
• The conversion of iron oxide to iron is achieved by
means of reducing gas mixture of carbon monoxide,
hydrogen and nitrogen at a temperature of 1095°C
made by air seam chat process
Solar energy methods
• The following approaches are under consideration:
• This method utilises living systems to split water into its
constituents hydrogen and oxygen
• i)photosynthesis process
• Ii)single cell green algae are able to make the enzyme
hydrogenase
• Iii)Blue green algae
• Iv)Chloroplasts
• Photo Electrolysis:
Hydrogen Storage
• There are five principle methods that have been
considered for hydrogen storage:
• 1)Compressed gas storage
• 2)Liquid Storage
• 3)Line pack system
• 4)Underground storage
• 5)storage as metal hydrides
Utilisation of hydrogen gas
• 1)For residential uses
• 2)For industrial uses
• 3)For as an alternative transport fuel
• 4) For as an alternative fuel for aircraft
• 5)For electric power generation
 Advantages of hydrogen energy
1.It’s a renewable energy source
Hydrogen is a rich source of energy for many reasons,
While it may take a lot of resources to harness it, no
other energy source is infinite as hydrogen. That,
essentially, means there is no possibility of it running
out like other sources of energy.
2.It practically a clean energy source
• When hydrogen is burnt to produce fuel, the byproducts
are totally safe, which means, they have no known side
effects. Aeronautical companies actually use hydrogen as
a source of drinking water. After hydrogen is utilized, it
is normally converted to drinking water for astronauts on
ship or space stations.
3.Hydrogen energy is non-toxic
• This means that it does not cause any harm or destruction
to human health. This aspect makes it preferred
compared to other sources of fuel like nuclear energy,
natural gas, which are extremely hazardous . It also
allows hydrogen to be used in places where other forms
of fuel may not be allowed.
4. It’s far more efficient than other sources of energy
• Hydrogen is solidly efficient energy type since it has the
ability to convey a lot of energy for every pound of fuel. This
categorically means that an automobile that utilizes hydrogen
energy will travel more miles than one with an equal amount
of gasoline.
5.Used for powering space ships
• Hydrogen energy’s efficiency and power makes it an ideal fuel
source for spaceships.  Its power is so high that it’s able to
quickly rocket spaceships to exploration missions. It’s also the
safest form of energy to perform such an energy-intensive
task. Hydrogen energy is in fact 3 times more potent than
gasoline and other fossil-based sources of fuel. This ideally
means that you need less hydrogen to complete an enormous
task.
• It also offers motive power for airplanes, boats, cars, and both
portable and stationary fuel cell applications. The downside to
using hydrogen in cars is that it’s practically difficult to store
in cryogenic or high-pressure tanks.
 Disadvantages of hydrogen Energy
1. Hydrogen energy is expensive
• Electrolysis and steam reforming, the two main processes
of hydrogen extraction are extremely expensive. This is
the real reason it’s not heavily used across the world.
Today, hydrogen energy is chiefly used to power most
hybrid vehicles. A lot of research and innovation is
required to discover cheap and sustainable ways to
harness this form of energy. Until then, hydrogen energy
would remain exclusively for the rich.
2.Storage complications
• One of hydrogen properties is that it has a lower density. In fact,
it is a lot less denser than gasoline. This means that it has to be
compressed to liquid state and stored the same way at lower
temperatures to guarantee its effectiveness and efficiency as an
energy source. This reason also explains why hydrogen must at
all times be stored and transported under high pressure, which is
why transportation and common use is far from feasible.
3. It’s not the safest source of energy
• The power of hydrogen should not be underestimated at all.
Although gasoline is a little more dangerous than hydrogen,
hydrogen is hugely flammable and frequently makes headlines
for its potential dangers. Compared to gas, hydrogen lacks
smell, which makes any leak detection almost impossible. To
detect leaks, one must install sensors.
4.Tricky to move around
• It’s a daunting task to transport hydrogen brilliantly due to its
lightness. Oil can be transported safely because it’s mostly
pushed through pipes. Coal can conveniently be transported in
dump trucks. Hydrogen also presents challenges when
considering moving it in large quantities, which is why it’s
mostly only transported in small batches.
5. Hydrogen energy cannot sustain the population
• Despite the fact that hydrogen is bountiful in supply, the cost of
harnessing it limits extensive utilization. As you realize, it’s quite
challenging to disrupt the status quo. Energy from fossil fuels still
rule the world. There is also no framework put in place to ensure
cheap and sustainable hydrogen energy for the normal car owner in
the future. Even if hydrogen were to become cheap right now, it
would take years to become the most used source of energy since
vehicles themselves and service stations would need to be
customized to conform to hydrogen requirements. This would
require massive capital outlay.
• It’s a fact that hydrogen energy is a renewable resource because it’s
abundantly available and its impacts hugely neglected. However,
hydrogen companies will, in real sense, need other forms of non-
renewable energy such as fossil (coal, natural gas, and oil) to
separate it from oxygen. We may be able to minimize over-reliance
on fossils fuels when we embrace hydrogen energy, but it will be
daunting to get rid of it from the system