1. Bobby Barker

2. Overview
 Uses of hydrogen
 Hydrogen economy
 Hydrogen production
 Challenges to a hydrogen economy
 Storage of hydrogen

3. Uses of Hydrogen
 Haber Process – Roughly 50% of hydrogen use.
 Producing ammonia for fertilizers
 Hydrocracking – Roughly 50% of hydrogen use.
 Cracking – complex organics to simpler molecules
 Converting heavy petroleum fractions into lighter ones
 Hydrogen Economy
 Hydrogen as an energy carrier, not a source
 Must be generated
 Expanding enterprise

4. Hydrogen Economy
 John Bockris – 1970
 A solution to the pollution emission from hydrocarbon
fuels
 One pound of hydrogen holds 52,000 BTU, three times
the energy of a pound of gasoline
 Many issues
 Storage
 Purity 99.999% for fuel cells
 Costs

5. Hydrogen Economy
Graphic: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Realizing.the.Hydrogen.Economy.chart.gif

6. Methods of Hydrogen Production
Graphic: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/hydrogen/basics/images/HydrogenProductionPaths.gif

7. Methods of Hydrogen Production
 Steam Reformation of Natural Gas
 Cheapest method
 CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2 at 700 – 1100 °C in the presence
of a metal-based catalyst.
 CO + H2O → CO2 + H2
 Still emits pollution as CO2
 Carbon capture

8. Methods of Hydrogen Production
 Electrolysis
 2H2O + energy → 2H2 + O2
 Uses electric current to split water; many methods.
 High-pressure, high-temperature, biocatalyst, thermal,
solar, etc.
 Gasification
 Coal or Biomass converted into gaseous components by
heat, under pressure, in the presence of steam.
 Carbon capture

9. Methods of Hydrogen Production
 Kværner-process
 Carbon Black and Hydrogen (CB&H) method
 Produces hydrogen and carbon black from
hydrocarbons
 Energy-efficient, pure 100% carbon and hydrogen.
 Biological
 Bacteria consume water in light or
without light to produce hydrogen
as a byproduct.
Graphic: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Algae_hydrogen_production.jpg

10. Methods of Hydrogen Production
 Renewable Liquid Reforming
 Biomass used to make biofuels can be reacted with high-
temperature steam to produce hydrogen.
 Global production (2006):
 48% from natural gas
 30% from oil
 18% from coal;
 Water electrolysis accounts for only 4%.

11. Main Challenges to a Hydrogen
Economy
 Cost reduction
 Transportation technology
 Production technology
 Conversion processes over other sources of energy
 Storage
 Infrastructure

12. Storage of Hydrogen
 One of the foremost challenges to the hydrogen
economy
 Compressed gas in high-pressure tanks
 Liquid in tanks (-253°C)
 Solid by absorbing or reacting with metals
 Issues:
 Operating pressure and temperature
 Life span of the storage material
 High energy content compared to weight, low energy
content compared to volume, especially for gas.

13. Storage Technologies
Graphic: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/hydrogen/basics/storage.htm

14. Infrastructure
 Pipeline transport
 Expensive, but still cheapest.
 Hydrogen stations
 Hydrogen embrittlement
 Typical natural gas lines require coatings or replacement
 Idea of on-site applications
 Explosion leaks
 Hydrogen-oxygen flames in UV range
 Odorless

15. References
 References:
 1. Hydrogen Economy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy (accessed 26
Feb 2012).
 2. Hydrogen Technologies.
http://www.interstatetraveler.us/Reference-
Bibliography/Bellona-HydrogenReport.html (accessed 26 Feb
2012).
 3. Hydrogen Production.
http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/doe_h2_production.pdf
(accessed 26 Feb 2012).
 4. Hydrogen.
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/hydrogen/index.htm
(accessed 26 Feb 2012).