THe Hydrogen Economy

transcript

A Hydrogen Economy

Agenda

• A Hydrogen Vision of the Future

• Hydrogen Systems

• Producing Hydrogen

• Storing and Transporting Hydrogen

• Hydrogen Fueled Transport

• Problems with Hydrogen

• The Promise of Hydrogen

• Hydrogen Summary

A Vision of a Hydrogen Future

"I believe that water will one day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal is not capable. I believe then that when the deposits of coal are exhausted, we shall heat and warm ourselves with water. Water will be the coal of the future."

Jules Vernes (1870) L´île mystérieuse

The Hydrogen H2 Molecule

http://planetforlife.com/h2/index.html

Hydrogen Economy Schematic

Hydrogen Economy in Hong Kong

http://www.gii.com.hk/eng/clean_energy.htm

Hydrogen Fueling Station

Hydrogen Systems

Hydrogen Energy Cycle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy

Hydrogen Production Cycle

Crabtree et al., “The Hydrogen Economy,” Physics Today, Dec 2004

Operating the Hydrogen Economy

Bossel et al., The Future of the Hydrogen Economy: Bright or Bleak?, Oct 28, 2004http://www.oilcrash.com/articles/h2_eco.htm

Hydrogen Economy Supply Chain

Hydrogen Pathways

http://www.ch2bc.org/index2.htm

Advantages of a Hydrogen Economy

• Waste product of burning H2 is water

• Elimination of fossil fuel pollution

• Elimination of greenhouse gases

• Elimination of economic dependence

• Distributed production

http://www.howstuffworks.com/hydrogen-economy.htm

Issues with Hydrogen

• Not widely available on planet earth

• Usually chemically combined in water or fossil fuels (must be separated)

• Fossil fuel sources contribute to pollution and greenhouse gases

• Electrolysis requires prodigious amounts of energy

Technological Questions

• Where does hydrogen come from?

• How is it transported?

• How is it distributed?

• How is it stored?

Producing Hydrogen

Current Hydrogen Production

•Current hydrogen production

•48% natural gas•30% oil•18% coal• 4% electrolysis

•Global Production•50 million tonnes / yr•Growing 10% / yr

•US Production•11 million tonnes / yr

How is Hydrogen Produced?

• Reforming fossil fuels• Heat hydrocarbons with steam• Produce H2 and CO

• Electrolysis of water• Use electricity to split water into O2 and H2

• High Temperature Electrolysis• Experimental

• Biological processes• Very common in nature• Experimental in laboratories

Steam Reforming

• From any hydrocarbon• Natural gas typically used

• Water (steam) and hydrocarbon mixed at high temperature (700–1100 °C)• Steam (H2O) reacts with methane (CH4) • CH4 + H2O → CO + 3 H2 - 191.7 kJ/mol

• The thermodynamic efficiency comparable to (or worse than) an internal combustion engine• Difficult to motivate investment in

technology

Carbon Monoxide Reforming

• Additional hydrogen can be recovered using carbon monoxide (CO) • low-temp (130°C) water gas shift reaction

• CO + H2O → CO2 + H2 + 40.4 kJ/mol

• Oxygen (O) atom stripped from steam• Oxidizes the carbon (C)

• Liberates hydrogen bound to C and O2

Hydrogen Steam Reforming

Hydrogen Steam Reforming Plants

Electrolysis of Water (H2O)

http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/edu_k-12/9-12/fc_energy/make_your_own_hydrogen_results.html

Electrolysis of Water

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/electrol.html

Renewable Energy for Electrolysis

http://www.howstuffworks.com/hydrogen-economy4.htm

Biomass Electrolysis Module

http://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/photos.html

High Temperature Electrolysis

• Electrolysis at high temperatures

• Use less energy to split water

Biological H2 Creation

•Nature has very simple methods to split water

•Scientists are working to mimic these processes in the lab; then commercially

Storing & Transporting Hydrogen

Hydrogen Storage

• Storage a major difficulty with hydrogen• H2 has low energy density per volume

• Requires large tanks to store

• H2 can be compressed to reduce volume• Requires heavy, strong tanks

• H2 can be liquefied to reduce volume• Boils at -423 °F (cryogenic)• Requires heavily insulated, expensive tanks

• Both compression and liquefaction require a lot of energy

Ammonia Storage

• H2 can be stored as ammonia (NH3)

• Exceptionally high hydrogen densities

• Ammonia very common chemical• Large infrastructure already exists

• Easily reformed to produce hydrogen• No harmful waste

• BUT• Ammonia production is energy intensive• Ammonia is a toxic gas

Metal Hydride Storage

• Metal hydrides can carry hydrogen• Boron, lithium, sodium• Good energy density, but worse than gas

• Volumes much larger than gasoline• Three times more volume• Four times heavier

• Hydrides can react violently with water• Leading contenders

• Sodium Borohydride• Lithium Aluminum Hydride• Ammonia Borane

Alkali Prod. Energy vs. Instrinsic Energy

Energy needed to produce alkali metal hydrides relative to the energy content of the liberated hydrogen.

Transporting Hydrogen

Storing & Transporting Hydrogen

• Store and Transport as a Gas• Bulky gas

• Compressing H2 requires energy

• Compressed H2 has far less energy than the same volume of gasoline

• Store and Transport as a Solid• Sodium Borohydride• Calcium Hydride• Lithium Hydride• Sodium Hydride

Hydrogen Fueled Transport

Hydrogen-Powered Autos

http://planetforlife.com/h2/h2vehicle.html

Hydrogen-Powered Trucks

Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft

http://aix.meng.auth.gr/lhtee/projects/cryoplane/

Hydrogen powered passenger aircraft with cryogenic tanks along spine of fuselage. Hydrogen fuel requires about 4 times the volume of standard jet fuel (kerosene).

Hydrogen-Powered Rockets

Implications of Hydrogen Transport

Weight of fuel

Weight of steel tank

Weight of carbon fiber tank

Volume of tank contents

Volume of tank

Typical 18 wheel truck (diesel)

1175 lb (small) NA 22.5 feet3 24.0 feet3

Typical sedan (gasoline)

108 lb (small) NA 2.25 feet3 2.5 feet3

Truck converted to ICE hydrogen

313 lb 31,300 lb 6,960 lb 67.5 feet3 157 feet3

Sedan converted to hydrogen fuel cell

17.4 lb 1740 lb 387 lb 4 feet3 9 feet3

http://planetforlife.com/h2/h2swiss.html

Problems with Hydrogen

Environmental Concerns

• 48% of hydrogen made from natural gas• Creates CO2 – a greenhouse gas

• Hydrogen H2 inevitably leaks from containers• Creates free radicals (H) in stratosphere

due to ultraviolet radiation• Could act as catalysts for ozone depletion

H2 Energy Densities

Energy Densities for Various Fuels

Higher Heating Value (HHV) is a measure of energy

H2 and Energy Density for Various Fuels

Hydrogen density and HHV energy content of ammonia and selected synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels

Hydrogen vs. Methane

Units Hydrogen Methane

Density kg/m3 0.0887 0.707

Gravimetric Energy MJ/kg 142.0 55.6

Volumetric Energy MJ/m3 12.7 40.0

Liquifaction Energy vs. Intrinsic Energy

Hydrogen Storage Densities

Hydrogen Energy Losses

• Windmills generate electricity.

• Electricity converted to H2 – 70% efficiency.

• H2 compressed for pumping – 20% energy loss

• H2 pumped long distance – 30% loss • 65% loss to Europe from the Sahara).

• Loss at filling stations – assume 5%• Loss in fuel cell – 50% (possibly only 40%)• Combining losses → only 15-18% useful

electricity, or vehicle motor power• 9.3% in the case of the Sahara

Criticism of Hydrogen Economy

• Hydrogen economy idea does not work for multiple reasons. • No practical source of cheap hydrogen• No good way to store hydrogen• No good way to distribute hydrogen

• Problems with physical & chemical properties of hydrogen• Technology cannot change these facts.

• Compact / convenient future energy carrier needed• Methane, ethane, methanol, ethanol, butane, octane,

ammonia, etc. are better energy carriers.• Difficult to understand the enthusiasm for hydrogen

• Hydrogen does not solve the energy problem and it is a bad choice for carrying energy.

Elemental Hydrogen Economy

Elemental Hydrogen Economy based on the natural cycle of water. Elemental hydrogen is provided to the user

Synthetic Liquid Hydrocarbon Economy

A Synthetic Liquid Hydrocarbon Economy may be based on the two natural cycles of water and carbon dioxide. Natural and synthetic liquid hydrocarbons are provided to the user.

The Promise of Hydrogen

UNIDO-ICHET Projection

http://www.unido-ichet.org/ICHET-transition.php

UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONINTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR HYDROGEN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

The Iceland Example

• Iceland committed to be the first hydrogen economy• 2050 goal

• Will use geothermal resources to create hydrogen• Power autos, buses, and fishing fleet with hydrogen

Hydrogen Summary

Advantages of a Hydrogen Economy

• Waste product of burning H2 is water

• Elimination of fossil fuel pollution

• Elimination of greenhouse gases

• Elimination of economic dependence

• Distributed production

• The stuff of stars

Disadvantages of Hydrogen

• Low energy densities

• Difficulty in handling, storage, transport

• Requires an entirely new infrastructure

• Creates CO2 if made from fossil fuels

• Low net energy yields• Much energy needed to create hydrogen

• Possible environmental problems• Ozone depletion (not proven at this point)

Extra Slides

Energy Density of Hydrogen

Current Uses of Hydrogen

Thermochemical Production

Problems with Hydrogen

Prospects for the Future

The Hydrogen Vision

THe Hydrogen Economy

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