22 May
Reviewing Renewable Technologies / Part One Hydrogen

Hydrogen energy is a new and exciting renewable energy. But how feasible is hydrogen replacing fossil fuels?

 Hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the universe and contains only one proton and one electron. Despite its simplicity and abundance, hydrogen does not naturally occur as a gas on the Earth. Hydrogen is always combined with other elements, i.e. water (H2O). Hydrogen is also found in many organic compounds, such as the hydrocarbons that make up many of our fuels, such as gasoline, natural gas, methanol, and propane. 

One process of extracting hydrogen from hydrocarbons is through the application of heat and is called reforming. The second process is called electrolysis and is when an electrical current is used to separate water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen. Neither are efficient processes. 

Hydrogen Fuel Cells combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water. Fuel cells operate best on pure hydrogen. Fuel cells are often compared to batteries as both convert the energy produced by a chemical reaction into usable electric power. According to Professor Gautam Kalghatgi from Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London, and Engineering Science at University of Oxford “Distribution and storage costs would be prohibitive.”

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