Table of Content
- Introduction
- Myths
Introduction
Hydrogen technology are becoming more mature. The world’s existing hydrogen business is becoming recognised as significant, producing one-fourth the amount of gas annually as the worldwide natural-gas sector. Industry, government, and civic society are all working hard to plan a transition from refined petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity to hydrogen as the primary means of transporting, storing, and delivering useable energy. New avenues of change are developing.
Myths
Myth#. For widespread use as a fuel, hydrogen is too hazardous, explosive, or "volatile."
The Hindenburg airship accident, as well as the high inflammability and explosive potential of the hydrogen bomb (also known as the H-Bomb), have done little to improve hydrogen’s public safety image; nevertheless, this is an undeserved reputation. Over the last half-century, the hydrogen sector has maintained an exceptional safety record. Every fuel is harmful and must be handled with due care, but the risks of hydrogen are distinct and, in general, more manageable than those of hydrocarbon fuels. It’s very buoyant, 14.4 times lighter than air (natural gas is just 1.7 times lighter). Because hydrogen is four times more diffusive than natural gas and twelve times more diffusive than gasoline fumes, leaky hydrogen quickly disperses up and away from its source. When lit, hydrogen burns quickly with a nonluminous flame that cannot easily sear you from afar, releasing one-tenth the radiant heat of a hydrocarbon fire and burning 7% cooler than gasoline. Although firemen dislike hydrogen’s clear flame because it necessitates the use of a viewing equipment.
Hindenburg myth (1937), The Hindenburg accident, in which a hydrogen-powered airship caught fire and killed 36 people, is still cited as an illustration of the element’s explosive qualities. Hydrogen supply from airship was not the cause of accident as there is Several forensic investigations of live images indicate the fabric cover of the airship burning for almost half a minute while the aircraft slowly lowered to the earth, rather than the hydrogen exploding.
Completely unrelated to hydrogen bombs, The Hydrogen bomb is based on the same mechanism that drives the Sun, nuclear fusion. This is only possible at temperatures and pressures hundreds of times higher than anything you’ll ever experience in your automobile.
Myth #. A whole hydrogen industry would need to be developed from scratch
Producing hydrogen is already a large and mature global industry. And according to IEA, hydrogen demand reached 94 million tonnes (Mt) in 2021, recovering to above pre-pandemic levels (91 Mt in 2019), and containing energy equal to about 2.5% of global final energy consumption. In addition to this It is estimated that currently around 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) of Hydrogen is consumed annually in India for various industrial purposes like petroleum refining industry for the desulphurisation of products Harnessing Green Hydrogen such as diesel and petrol, manufacturing of ammonia for fertilizers, methanol production, treatment and production of metals etc. Most of this Hydrogen is currently sourced from fossil fuels through the process of steam reformation of natural gas, naptha etc. and is referred to as Grey Hydrogen. The Chlor-alkali industry also produces Hydrogen gas as a by-product. Some Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water using grid electricity for specific applications. But in recent years in order to meet net zero emission target, world has increased its focus on hydrogen as alternative source of energy. That is why we have an increase in demand of hydrogen to decarbonize hard to abet sector of economy like transport, power, aviation and maritime etc.
Myth #. We don’t have practical ways to run cars on gaseous hydrogen, so cars must continue to use liquid fuels
Heavy and costly batteries have limited battery-powered electric cars to small niche markets. Now, various hybrid-electric cars now on the market from Honda and Toyota, and soon from virtually all automakers, make the electricity with onboard engine-generators, or recover it from braking. These “hybrid-electric” designs provide all the advantages of electric propulsion without the disadvantages of batteries. Still better will be fuel cells — the most efficient (~50–70% from hydrogen to direct-current electricity), clean, and reliable known way to make electricity from fuel.(RMI). And various start-up has come up with retrofitment device with blending concept to ramp up vehicle mileage and reduce emission from exhaust. But the research has not end yet because several big automobile entity has introduce hydrogen fuel cell technology in their cars to covert chemical energy into mechanical energy.
Myth #. Compressing hydrogen for automotive storage tanks takes too much energy.
Using normal 93-94% efficient intercooled technology, compressing hydrogen to fill tanks to 350 bar requires power equivalent to around 9-12% of the hydrogen’s energy content. However, much of the compression energy may be recovered aboard the automobile by lowering the pressure back to what the fuel cell requires (0.3-3 bar) using a small turboex-changer rather of a throttling valve. Along with this compressor’s externally rejected heat can be put to good use, it need not be wasted.
Myth #. Making hydrogen uses more energy than it yields, so it’s prohibitively inefficient.
The conversion losses and costs are tolerable if the resulting form of energy is more efficiently or conveniently usable than the original form. Any conversion of energy from one form to another uses more usable energy than it produces. Conversion losses are unavoidable; the question is whether they are acceptable. They are worthwhile to incur, If they were intrinsically unacceptable, as Myth #3 indicates, we would have to stop producing gasoline from crude oil (73-91% efficient from wellhead to retail pump42 ) and electricity from fossil fuel (29-35% efficient from coal at the power plant to retail metre). As a result, such conversion losses are not unique to hydrogen production. Hydrogen production is normally 72 to 85 percent efficient in natural-gas reformers or 70-75% efficient in electrolyzers. (RMI)