Hydrogen fuel & its sustainable development

HYDROGEN FUEL & ITS

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

SRIDHAR S.I

&

ARUN PRASATH .T

HYDROGEN

• A colourless, odourless, and highly flammable

gas.

• Atomic number-1.

• It is found only in compound form.

• Combined with oxygen, it is water (H20) .

Combined with carbon, it forms organic

compounds such as methane (CH4), coal, and

petroleum.

• An excellent fuel which replaces fossil fuels.

SOURCES

HYDROGEN vs. FOSSIL FUELS

Advantages of Hydrogen:

• Zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

• Additional utilisation potential

• Improved distribution efficiencies

• Ecologically safer fuel

HYDROGENIs not Clean When Produced

Current

H2

Technology

From fossil fuels

(Natural Gas)

CO2 Emissions

Sustainable

H2

Technology

From renewable and H2O

No CO2 Emissions

NEED FOR HYDROGEN FUEL

1990 2000 2010 2020

YEAR

EN

ER

GY

(kW

h)

Western Europe, North America

Asia

Africa, Middle East

Other

104028

119772

144516

174156

1.4 %*

1.9 % *

1.9 % *

* Compound Annual Growth Rate

Barriers For H2 Fuel

• the cost of efficient and sustainable hydrogen production and delivery must be significantly reduced.

• new generations of hydrogen storage systems for both vehicular and stationary applications must be developed.

• the cost of fuel-cell and other hydrogen-based systems must be reduced.

H2 PRODUCTION

Current Methods:

• Coal Gasification.

Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) Method.

• From natural gas.

Renewable Methods For Sustainable Development:

• Electrolysis.

• Solar-Hydrogen.

• Thermo-Chemical Process.

• Bio-mass Gasification. Etc…

ELECTROLYSIS• passing an electrical current through water to split

individual water molecules into their constituent hydrogen and oxygen.

• 65% energy efficiency is common, in case of large electrolysers up to 85% efficiency is possible.

• At present, however, the technique is only used at relatively small plants, with a cost of 2.40-3.60 $/kg of hydrogen produced.

• This high cost is expected to limit electrolysis to niche markets in the near and mid term.

DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR-HYDROGENPhoto–Electrochemical Generation of Hydrogen from

Water

• ADVANTAGES

• Sustainable and environmentally friendly

• Direct solar to hydrogen conversion

• No H2/O2 separation required

• Stored fuel for use anywhere and anytime

H2O

PHOTO-CATALYST(TiO2)

HYDROGEN GAS

SUNLIGHT

•A titanium dioxide electrode immersed in deoxygenated water

and coated with platinum catalyst particles will split water into its

constituent elements upon irradiation with sunlight.

•Photo excited electrons are consumed to generate hydrogen

and holes are used to produce oxygen.

WHAT IS TiO2

• Commonly called as Titanium

dioxide, titania, rutile.

Why do we use TiO2?

• Photosensitive oxide semiconductor.

• Absorption of Sunlight

• Reactivity with Water

• Will not corrode – Survives for centuries

• Abundant – Australia is world production leader.

FUTURE

OF

SOLAR-HYDROGEN

Thermo chemical process:

• uses heat to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

• heating water to extreme temperatures, perhaps 3400 K.

• Because of the high temperatures required, however,

direct thermal conversion is yet impractical outside

the laboratory.

• Chemical reactions can be employed to reduce the

required temperature.

Various Forms of H2 Fuel

STORAGE

• The hydrogen storage capacity is only 1.2 mass%.

35 and 70MPa compressed hydrogen

gas cylinders

100 MPa compressed H2 cylinder is also being developed.

The hydrogen storage is about 2.7% at 35 MPa and 5.5 mass% at 70 MPa.

Hydrogen storage in liquid state

Hydrogen storage in liquid state has high storage capacity, but it resumes

a lot of energy in liquation and low temperature keeping, therefore, the

energy utilization efficiency is low.

The US space shuttle Engine uses Hydrogen and oxygen as a fuel. The flame is almost invisible

• Hydrogen also forms ionic bonds with some

metals, creating a compound called a hydride.

H2 Solid:

• achieved by decreasing the temperature below

hydrogen's melting point of 14.01 K (−259.14 °C).

• Can be used as fuels in rockets.

HANDHELD HYDROGEN(Amminex)

Researchers at the Technical University of

Denmark (DTU) have developed an

ammonia-based solid-state hydrogen

storage solution: a tablet that can be held

in your hand.

Essentially an Ammonia storage

method

• The tablet is a metal ammine complex that stores 9.1% hydrogen

by weight in the form of ammonia absorbed efficiently in

magnesium chloride: Mg(NH3)6Cl2.

• The storage is completely reversible, and by adding an ammonia

decomposition catalyst, hydrogen can be delivered at temperatures

below 347º C (656º F). The tablets can be recharged with

additional ammonia.

MeOH FUEL• Methanol replacing hydrogen gas as the fuel of

the future.

• Rather than releasing carbon dioxide into the air,

it can be used to produce methanol – which is an

excellent fuel for cars and airplanes – using solar

energy.

• Methanol is easy to store, as opposed to

electricity. As a vehicle fuel, it is ready to be used

in the current infrastructure.

METHOD:

• Hydrogen gas is the first step in producing

methanol.

• First the water molecules are split so that

hydrogen and oxygen are formed.

• The hydrogen then reacts with carbon dioxide,

and methanol is formed.

• Methanol can be mixed in petrol or, if slightly

modified, be used alone in modern petrol

engines.

Photo-process in H2 Production• Photo processes use the energy and other special

properties of light (usually sunlight) to produce hydrogen

from either water or biomass.

• Photo biological techniques are based on the

photosynthesis cycle used by plants and by some bacteria

and algae.

• The efficiency of photo biological hydrogen production is

only 1 to 5%, but researchers hope to increase it to 10%

or more.

BIO-HYDROGEN• Biologically produced hydrogen is called as bio-

hydrogen.

Hydrogenase Mediated Pathway:

BIO-PHOTOLYSIS

FUEL CELL DEVELOPMENT• Fuel cells are emerging as a leading alternative

technology to replace more polluting internal

combustion engines

• A fuel cell is a device akin to a continuously recharging

battery and generates electricity by the electrochemical

reaction of hydrogen and oxygen from the air.

• An important difference is that batteries store energy,

while fuel cells can produce electricity continuously as

long as fuel and air are supplied.

• In transportation, hydrogen fuel-cell engines operate at

an efficiency of up to 65%, compared to 25% for

present-day petrol-driven car engines.

Pollution free….

• Hydrogen-powered fuel cells emit only water

and have virtually no pollutant emissions, even

nitrogen oxides, because they operate at

temperatures that are much lower than internal

combustion engines.

Hydrogen (or a hydrogen-containing fuel) and oxygen

are fed into the anode and cathode of the fuel cell and

the electrochemical reactions, assisted by catalysts,

take place at the electrodes. The electrolyte enables the

transport of ions between the electrodes, while the

excess electrons flow through an external circuit to

provide electrical current.

FUEL CELL APPLICATIONS:• Mostly in Transportations

Scientific and technical challenges for the hydrogen economy

• Lowering the cost of hydrogen production to a level comparable to the energy cost of petrol.

• Development of a CO2-free route for the mass production of sustainable hydrogen at a competitive cost.

• Development of a safe and efficient national infrastructure for hydrogen delivery and distribution.

• Development of viable hydrogen storage systems for both vehicular and stationary applications.

• Dramatic reduction in costs and significant improvement in the durability of fuel cell systems.

Key players working on Hydrogen

and Fuel Cell technology in India

• Benaras Hindu University (BHU)

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)

• National Chemical Laboratory (NCL),

Pune:

• Indian Oil Corporation Limited

• Tata Motors

CONCLUSION• By 2050, the global energy demand could double or triple and oil

and gas supply is unlikely to be able to meet this demand.

• Hydrogen is the best alternative.

• Until 2020, hydrogen production from fossil fuels and by

electrolysis of water using grid electricity is expected to be the

most important sources of hydrogen. During this transition period,

advanced and clean reformation/gasification processes, CO2

capture and sequestration and new efficient and low-cost

electrolysers will have to be developed.

• The UK, however, has world-leading scientific expertise and

facilities, as well the renewable resources to accelerate this

transition to a hydrogen era.

THANK YOU..

REFERENCES: