Hydrogen from Fossil Fuels and Biomass

Hydrogen was first identified as a distinct entity in 1766 by the British scientist Henry Cavendish (1731 — 1810) after he produced the gas by reacting zinc metal with hydrochloric acid. This gas he called inflammable air . In a paper to the Royal Society in London, Cavendish provided exact measurements of the weight and density of the gas and thereby revealed its inherent lightness. At that point, Cavendish turned his attention to other areas of research and did not return to the study of gases until the early 1780s. He found that water was formed when inflammable air was ignited with a spark in ordinary air, but continued to hold the belief that, in its production, the gas was released from the metal itself rather than from the acid. 

The splitting of water to generate hydrogen is conveniently done by electrolysis, although in most countries this is not the favoured economic route. 

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Hydrogen Production from Fossil Fuels and Biomass... 

H2 serves as the alternative energy source relative to fossil fuels and biomass [181] because it is clean and environmentally friendly. Hence, catalytic hydrogen generation from water under mild conditions is one of the goals for the organometallic catalysis. One of the hopeful methods is the electrochemical reduction of protons by a hydrogenase mimic. 

Navarro RM, Pena MA, Fierro JLG. Hydrogen production reactions from carbon feedstocks fossils fuels and biomass. Chem Rev. 2007 107(10) 3952-91. 

Navarro, R.M., Pena, M.A., and Fierro, J.L.G. Hydrogen production reactions from carbon feedstocks Fossil fuels and biomass. Chemical Reviews, 2007, 107 (10), 3952. 

Navarro R M, Pena M A, Fierro J L G (2007), Hydrogen production reactions from carbon feedstocks Fossil Fuels and Biomass , Chem. Rev., 107,3952-3991. 

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. 

Using hydrogen to produce electrical energy from fossil fuels in large centralised plants will contribute positively to achieving important reductions of C02 emissions, if this is combined with C02 capture and sequestration processes. Such plants will also help to increase the diversification of resources, since a variety of fossil feedstocks can be used, including resources such as coal and waste that otherwise cause major impacts on the environment, as well as biomass. 

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