Producing hydrogen Gas - The Flexable Fuel

Posted by admin on August 16th, 2008 filed in Producing Hydrogen Gas

Hydrogen gas can be produced using a wide variety of methods and raw materials making is probably the most flexible fuel on the earth. In a traditional plant setting, producing hydrogen gas can begin with raw materials such as coal, water, natural gas, algae or biomass (natural organic composting materials).

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Gasification is the technique used for producing hydrogen gas from coal, biomass, or other solid material. It involves subjecting the material or feedstock to extreme heat, cooling it, separating the hydrogen gas, and purifying it for use as automotive or electrical fuel. Production plants that gasify coal to distill hydrogen gas as a fuel for electricity generation will produce much less pollution that regular coal-fired power stations.

Producing hydrogen gas from water is by far one of the greenest production methods and is accomplished by several methods, including electrolysis, which uses electrical current to separate the hydrogen from the water and is the most versatile production method. This method can be powered by renewable electrical energy sources such as: wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal, and water driven generators such as water wheels. This method can also be powered by nuclear generated electricity.

The Thermochemical Water Splitting method of producing hydrogen gas separates hydrogen from water using a chemical reaction between water and select chemicals at high temperatures. This is primary accomplished at nuclear plants. High-temperature Electrolysis is the same basic concept as fueled by electricity except this method uses the heat generated by nuclear power production to bring the water to the correct temperature instead of electrical current.

Production of hydrogen gas using natural gas as the raw material is achieved through a process called Steam Methane Reformation. This is a two-step method, which burns the natural gas to create steam, which results in a synthesis gas from which the hydrogen can be separated. This method, though not as environmentally friendly as electrolysis is currently used to produce roughly ninety-five percent of all hydrogen in the United States.

Hydrogen can also be produced from algae or bacteria found in wastewater using a method called Photo-Biological Production. Using this method the algae are deprived of sulfur, which causes them to stop emitting oxygen and emit hydrogen. This method of producing hydrogen gas is currently receiving a great deal of attention because it is the greenest of all the methods utilizing both renewable and waste material by products as its primary ingredient or “feedstock”.

The benefits of producing hydrogen gas seem almost limitless when compared with fossil fuel production. Whether from fuel or feedstock materials to methods of production, hydrogen gas is truly a fuel of the future.

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