Hydrogen today

Martin Wietschel, Michael Ball and Philipp Seydel 

1 While prototype aeroplanes fuelled by hydrogen have also been successfully demonstrated (IEA, 2005), an inherent disadvantage of hydrogen for use in aviation is its low energy density. Hydrogen has also been used as a fuel for scooters and boats. 

2 See also Section 8.2 for roadmapping. For a discussion of scenarios and strategies relating to the introduction of hydrogen vehicles, see Chapter 14. 

The Hydrogen Economy Opportunities and Challenges, ed. Michael Ball and Martin Wietschel. Published by Cambridge 

Passenger car Otto- motora Diesel- motora PEM FC -today PEM FC -target H2 ICE -today h2 ice - target 

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Natural gas is the least expensive source of hydrogen today. But, there may not be enough natural gas to meet the demand for natural gas power plants and to supply a hydrogen fueled economy. The prices of natural gas, hydrogen and electricity could see dramatic increases as the demand for natural gas to make hydrogen increases. 

SR of methane/natural gas is one of the largest catalytic processes in the world and is by far the most important method for producing industrial hydrogen today. The process is well described in literature and it is typically carried out at 800-950 °C over nickel-based catalysts." The main reactions are methane SR (11) and water-gas-shift (WGS) (12). 

To paraphrase Charles Dickens again We were all going directly to hydrogen, we were all going directly the other way. This chapter looks at options for producing hydrogen today and in the future— but first a little background on this most indispensable element. 

While natural gas is both the least expensive source of hydrogen today and the most straightforward to scale up quickly for fueling pem vehicles, we must answer these questions before pursuing this path ... 

It is true to generalize that the cost of making hydrogen today is lowest for the first category and highest for the fourth however, this does not mean that only the first category is in use today, although it appears to be the cheapest, nor does it mean that the sequence of economic priorities will always be in today s order. 

One of the most important uses of hydrogen today is for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into the form of ammonia. 

One of the most important uses of hydrogen today is for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into the form of ammonia. Ammonia then carries, either directly or in combination with other compounds, such as urea, ammonium nitrate and various NPK materials, the supplemental nitrogen nutrient to the soil for plant growth. 

Pipelines can be used for delivering hydrogen. Today, several thousand miles of hydrogen pipelines exist around the world, with several hundred miles in the U.S. These lines are short and located in industrial areas for large users. The longest pipeline in the world is almost 250 miles long and goes from Antwerp to Normandy. It operates at 100 atmosphere of pressure which is approximately 1,500 psi. 

Hydrogen from Water Gas and Steam. The water-gas catalytic, or Bosch, process is one of the most important for producing industrial hydrogen today. Water gas is readily made in standarcf water-gas generators from very cheap raw materials, viz., coal or coke, steam, and air. An average analysis of water gas is... 

The scale of hydrogen production and envisaged ways of distribution vary considerably and are strongly linked to cost considerations. The dominant large-scale route for the centralized production of hydrogen today is natural gas conversion. Most commonly used is the steam methane reforming (SMR) process (Eq. 7.1, Table 7.2), which is endothermic and operates typically over a Ni-based catalyst at around 800-900°C and between 15 and 30 bars pressure to produce a reformate (synthesis gas) [11]. 

The major use of hydrogen today is in the production of ammonia via the Haber reaction ... 

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