Hydrogen from fossil fuels

The possibilities of new sources of energy, such as energy from hydrogen, may also some day become economical, and help to uncouple fossil fuel consumption from economic growth... 

For regions in the Russian North that are cut-off from any supplies in wintertime -support of agricultural production and the replacement of fossil fuel supplied from afar by locally produced hydrogen ... 

Synthesis gas (syngas) is a general term for a mixture whose main constituents are hydrogen and carbon monoxide but also for a nitrogen-hydrogen mixture used for NH3 synthesis. As shown in Figure 6.2.1, syngas may be produced from any fossil fuel and from biomass. 

The production of syngas, a mixture of CO and H2, is an important step for the manufacture of chemicals such as methanol, hydrogen, and ammonia as well as for fuels like diesel oil. Syngas may be produced from any fossil fuel and from biomass. 

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and is found in a variety of compounds, including hydrocarbons (e.g., fossil fuels or biomass) and water. Since free hydrogen does not occur naturally on earth in large quantities, it must be produced from hydrogen-containing compounds. 

If hydrogen is made from decarbonized fossil fuels, fuel-cycle emissions can be cut by up to 80 percent. With renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar, or wind, the fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions are virtually eliminated. It is possible to envision a future energy system based on hydrogen and fuel cells with little or no emissions of pollutants or greenhouse gases in fuel production, distribution, or use. 

Alternatives to fossil fuels, such as hydrogen, are explored in Box 6.2 and Section 14.3. Coal, which is mostly carbon, can be converted into fuels with a lower proportion of carbon. Its conversion into methane, CH4, for instance, would reduce C02 emissions per unit of energy. We can also work with nature by accelerating the uptake of carbon by the natural processes of the carbon cycle. For example, one proposed solution is to pump C02 exhaust deep into the ocean, where it would dissolve to form carbonic acid and bicarbonate ions. Carbon dioxide can also be removed from power plant exhaust gases by passing the exhaust through an aqueous slurry of calcium silicate to produce harmless solid products ... 

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