Transcript Hydrogen Economy: Is It Reasonable or Not

Hydrogen Economy: Is It
Reasonable or Not?
By Mike Stephany and Anthony
Crawford
What is a Hydrogen Economy?
• An economy that uses hydrogen as power for
automobiles and electricity as an alternative
to fossil fuels
• An option to replace our fossil fuel economy
and all its negative effects to the environment
• It is a more environmentally friendly process
of creating and using energy
Fossil Fuels
• When burned they
release poisonous gases
into the atmosphere
• Our present economy is
entirely dependent on
fossil fuels
– Cars, trains, airplanes,
power plants are all
powered by fossil fuels
• There are four major
problems that fossil fuels
produce
Air Pollution
• When fossil fuels are burned they produce
more than just carbon dioxide and water
– Poisonous Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide and
unburned Hydrocarbons are emitted every time
fossil fuels are burned
• This is due to the internal combustion engine
even with restrictions to be more
environmentally friendly
– Catalytic converters slow down the process of
pollution however hydrogen is a better alternative
Air Pollution cont…
• Cars and factories are
making this issue of
pollution a big problem
in major cities
• Layers of the ozone are
in danger of
disintegrating from this
pollution
• No ozone = no air
Environmental Pollution
• Main causes:
supertanker oil spills, oil
well fires and pipeline
explosions
• Supertanker spills reek
havoc on marine and
local wildlife
• Minor spills are
frequent but the big
ones are catastrophic
Global Warming
• For every gallon of gas burned by
automobiles, 5LBS OF CARBON DIOXIDE are
released into the atmosphere
• Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is
slowly raising the temperature of the earth by
the greenhouse effect
• Global warming is not a theory, it is how the
planet is warming that is still unclear to
present day scientists
Global Warming cont…
• The melting of the polar
ice caps is proof that
the planet’s
temperature is rising
but scientists are not
sure if it is due to the
emission of pollution
• This could potentially
lead to the destruction
of all costal cities
Dependence
• Gas prices have been soaring above 4 dollars
because the United States cannot produce
enough oil to reach its demand
• We import oil from Middle Eastern countries
that jack up the prices because oil reserves are
running scarce and because they hate us
• This problem could be solved if we simply
could rely less on oil and more on a
homemade power source (hydrogen power)
Advantages of Hydrogen Energy
• Making use of Hydrogen energy we can:
1) Eliminate pollution of fossil fuels
2) Bring a halt to the production of greenhouse
gases
3) Break away from our dependence on countries
of the Middle East
4) Obtain the production of Hydrogen
•
Hydrogen can be produced and distributed anywhere
there is water and electricity
Common Questions
• Where does Hydrogen come from?
• How will we transport and distribute it?
• How will we store hydrogen?
Where does it come from?
• Unlike fossil fuels, Hydrogen is/was not stored
for millions of years for us to simply pump and
refine to put to use, so what do we do?
• We can create hydrogen by the process of
either:
– a. Electrolysis of water
– b. Reforming fossil fuels
Reforming Fossil Fuels
• A fuel processor (a reformer) is used to split
the hydrogen from hydrocarbons, which are
present in oil and natural gas
• Problem: When hydrocarbons are split the
carbon dioxide is also released
– No air pollution, but a greenhouse gas is released
• Although this is not the best process, it is seen
as an easy transition to a hydrogen economy
Reforming Fossil Fuels cont…
• This process is used in cars that are considered
“fuel cell cars”
• Since there are not hydrogen stations like
there are gas stations, using gas (good source
of hydrogen) is the easiest way to obtain
hydrogen power
Water Electrolysis
• The process is done by splitting a water
molecule to produce a Hydrogen and Oxygen
• Major Advantage: It can be done anywhere
– i.e. A box can be put in your garage that
completes water electrolysis therefore hydrogen is
there anytime for your own use
• Unlike R.F.F., this is the ideal of a hydrogen
economy
Water Electrolysis cont…
• Hydrogen from renewable resources= Pure
hydrogen economy
• In order to have a pure hydrogen economy a
major task must be accomplished:
– Using electricity to produce hydrogen, but to use
electricity not dependent on fossil fuels
• Some Solutions: Nuclear power, Hydroelectric dams,
Solar Cells, and Geothermal Power
The Future
• Seems likely that nuclear power or solar
power generating will become dominant to
produce electricity
• Several challenges have to be completed:
– Doubling the electrical generating capacity
• Power plants double and replace fossil fuel factories
– Nuclear Plants cause a political and environmental
problem
– Solar plants pose the problem of extreme costs
and a reasonable location
Storage
• Hydrogen is considered a bulky gas and hard to work
with unlike gasoline
– Compressing hydrogen requires much energy and still has
less energy than the same amount of gasoline
• There’s a solution though: It can store as a solid with
Sodium Borohydride (borax contained in detergents)
– NaBH4 releases hydrogen, then becomes borax which can
be recycled.
• Once storage is standardized, hydrogen stations must
be developed
Transportation
• There must be a standard storage
development
– All hydrogen-car manufacturers must use the
same standardized method to store hydrogen such
as NaBH4 in order for a network of transportation
and stations to be developed
So Is It Reasonable?
•
It may take some time, but it is reasonable if the
proper steps are taken
1. Transition to fuel-celled-powered automobiles
2. Replace fossil fuel plants with and double
solar/alternative energy plants
3. Standardized method of storing hydrogen energy
4. Develop a network of transportation and hydrogen
stations
•
•
This revolution will be expensive at first, but as the
transition is made costs will become less expensive
In the end, a Pure Hydrogen Economy is hoped to
be made
Bibliography
• http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hydrogeneconomy6.htm
• http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/92
48
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/35
36156.stm