Hydrogen, a great source of energy, could very soon become a source to power vehicles as well as heavy machinery. The question that still persists is its safety and mishandling.
Fuel Cells and Vehicles are already in testing!
About Hydrogen molecule(H2)
Hydrogen is the first member of the Chemical Periodic Table. It is the lightest element in the universe and is found in small amounts in Earth’s Atmosphere. The reason for its small amounts is- Hydrogen molecules' velocity exceed that of the Escape velocity of the Earth because of which they escape earth’s atmosphere.
Hydrogen is known to be very good fuel and releases tremendous amount of energy. Its is currently used in Rocket fuel and Oxyhydrogen Torch. It has a very high Calorific value, which is around three times the calorific value of Petrol or Diesel. The reason why combusting Hydrogen is not practiced is because of the uncontrollable nature of its combustion and difficulty in storage as its molecules are so small that they leak out of the container’s walls. This leak could be potentially hazardous as it could lead to an explosion as Hydrogen catches fire instantly.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell- How is hydrogen providing energy?
A fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen or other fuels to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity. With hydrogen as the fuel, the only bye products are electricity, water, and heat.
(FCEV),Fuel cell electric vehicles are the vehicles that use Hydrogen as a fuel. FCEV have several benefits over conventional combustion-based technologies currently used in vehicles. Fuel cells can operate at higher efficiencies than combustion engines and can convert the chemical energy in the fuel directly to electrical energy with efficiencies capable of exceeding 60%. Fuel cells have lower or zero emissions compared to combustion engines. Hydrogen fuel cells emit only water, addressing critical climate challenges as there are no carbon dioxide emissions. There also are no air pollutants that create smog and cause health problems at the point of operation. Fuel cells are quiet during operation as they have few moving parts.
How Fuel Cells Work
Fuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging. They produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. Fuel cell commonly used in vehicles is Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell A fuel cell consists of two electrodes—a negative electrode (or anode) and a positive electrode (or cathode)—sandwiched around an electrolyte. A fuel, such as hydrogen, is fed to the anode, and air is fed to the cathode. In a hydrogen fuel cell, a catalyst at the anode separates hydrogen molecules into protons and electrons, which take different paths to the cathode. The electrons go through an external circuit, creating a flow of electricity. The protons migrate through the electrolyte to the cathode, where they unite with oxygen and the electrons to produce water and heat.
Production Of Hydrogen
Hydrogen can be produced by two main and popular methods- Electrolysis of water and Steam reformation.Currently Canada is the largest producer of Hydrogen using Steam Reformation method.
Again choice of Green technology to generate electricity for water hydrolysis depends on two processes-Solar Electricity and Wind Turbines.The choice depends upon the choice of area ,but both of them produce no emissions.
Steam reformation/Steam Methane Reformation for production of hydrogen (SynGas) is the reaction of water with hydrocarbons ,mainly natural gas having methane as its major component.Its an endothermic reaction and produces Hydrogen along with Carbon Monoxide.
CH4 + H2O ⇌ CO + 3 H2
Additionally using water gas shift reaction additional hydrogen can be produced by steam reforming carbon monoxide with water. In this process Carbon dioxide is released but in very small quantity.
CO + H2O ⇌ CO2 + H2.
Cost of Production of Hydrogen
Efforts through out the world are going on up scale the production of green hydrogen and a bench mark standard of $2/kg has been set up. An Indian company Relinace Industries Limited has set up its goal to produce hydrogen at less than $1/kg by 2030. For this purpose they are developing PV solar module factory, an advanced battery storage factory, an electrolyte factory to produce green hydrogen and an advanced unit to store Hydrogen. With the Governments, Industries taking proactive stance use of Hydrogen as an alternative fuel on commercial viable basis is not very far away and the process is also climate friendly.
HYDROGEN POWERED INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
Hydrogen internal combustion engine cars are different from hydrogen fuel cell cars. The hydrogen internal combustion car is a slightly modified version of the traditional gasoline internal combustion engine car. These hydrogen engines burn fuel in the same manner that gasoline engines do; the main difference is the exhaust product. Gasoline combustion results in emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, NOx, particulates and unburned hydrocarbons, while the main exhaust product of hydrogen combustion is water vapour.
Very Nice & Informative