The power of H2

8rvz...SVQt

31 Aug 2023

Hydrogen is the first and most important element in the universe. It consists of a positively charged nucleus (proton) and a negatively charged electron and has the lowest atomic weight of any element. Under normal conditions, hydrogen is a colorless and odorless gas.
Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biogas, and renewable power like solar and wind. The challenge is harnessing hydrogen as a gas on a large scale to fuel our homes and businesses.
It has many positive properties, as well as a few negative, even dangerous ones.

The sustainability of hydrogen is heavily dependent on how it is produced, i.e. what type of energy is used to produce it.
We can distinguish three types of hydrogen, considering production methods – “Green”; “Blue” and “Grey”.

What is „green” hydrogen production?
This technology is based on a chemical process known as electrolysis. This method uses an electrical current to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen in water. If this electricity is obtained from renewable sources we will, therefore, produce energy without emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
For an experimental purpose, you can obtain it at home using electrolysis.
You can watch this on the found video:

WARNING!!!:
Hydrogen gas can easily create a flammable or explosive mixture, so you should pay extreme attention if you do such an experiment and treat it with high carefulness.
There is another example, of how high flammable the hydrogen is:

WARNING!!!
Even small amounts of liquid hydrogen can be explosive when combined with air, and only a small amount of energy is required to ignite it.
Green hydrogen will play an increasingly significant role in the coming phases of the energy transition. For the moment, however, green hydrogen is very costly to produce and can’t yet be generated in large quantities. This type of hydrogen will therefore most likely be imported from countries with the potential for generating energy from renewable sources such as solar or wind power. Green hydrogen is expected to be used to help cover energy requirements during periods of peak demand on the power grid. Experts believe that the technology will play a pivotal role in combating climate change.
In future articles, I will describe modern technologies developed by leading worldwide energy sector companies, such as Siemens, GE Power, etc.

„Blue” and “Grey” hydrogen

Hydrogen called „blue” is produced from natural gas and later decarbonized using carbon capture and storage to safely store any carbon emissions back underground.
Potential technologies to produce high-purity hydrogen from hydrocarbons, including Thermo-Neutral Reforming (TNR) and a catalyst for converting diesel into hydrogen, are used to create so-called ‘blue’ hydrogen – which is produced by extracting the valuable gas whilst also capturing all the CO2 emissions.
When methane burns it creates hydrogen and CO2, but what makes blue hydrogen different is that CO2 emissions can be captured and either recycled, removed, or reused. This all forms part of our vision for a circular carbon economy.
Grey hydrogen produced using energy from hydrocarbons, particularly natural gas, is known as “grey” hydrogen.

One of the most commonly used methods of producing hydrogen is through a process called steam methane reforming (SMR), which is also known as grey hydrogen. Grey hydrogen is produced by reacting natural gas with steam at high temperatures, which produces hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is then released into the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
Grey hydrogen is the most cost-effective method of producing hydrogen, and it currently accounts for around 95% of global hydrogen production. However, it is not a sustainable or environmentally friendly method of producing hydrogen, as it contributes to climate change.
A good explanation of the industrial methods of obtaining Hydrogen is shown in this video:

Hydrogen has been announced as the fuel of the future - it is clean, flexible, and energy efficient. But in practice, there are huge hurdles to overcome before widespread adoption can be achieved. And I hope it’s material for future articles.

Resources: