Hydrogen production

Name: Banan Hamad Hussean

Class: 3rd class
Dep.: fuel and energy Department
Tech.: chra m. Mustafa
Introduction:
Hydrogen has been identified as a potential energy carrier in some low
GHG energy scenarios. However, the technology available to produce,
store and use hydrogen in a cost-effective way with low emission of
greenhouse gases is not sufficient for large-scale deployment.
Hydrogen can be produced from fossil fuels or from water splitting.
When hydrogen is derived from hydrocarbons (fossil fuels), the
chemical energy to be stored in the hydrogen is already present in the
primary fuel. The key challenges to this form of production lie in
controlling the chemical reactions and the extraction of hydrogen.
Production from fossil fuels in a low GHG scenario will also require CO2
capture and sequestration. Conversely, extraction of hydrogen from
water requires that energy be supplied from an external resource, but
does not present the challenge of unwanted emissions at the point of
conversion.
Hydrogen's appeal as an energy carrier is currently limited by the
availability of methods to store it efficiently. Many energy conversion
systems that would use hydrogen operate either intermittently or
independent of energy infrastructure and thereby require a reservoir of
hydrogen. This reservoir must be of reasonable size and weight, and
cannot require a significant fraction of stored energy to fill, vent, or
move. Hydrogen storage options utilizing chemical potential must use
sufficiently reversible reactions to meet these goals.
The two most likely candidates for the conversion of energy stored in
hydrogen to useful work are internal combustion engines and fuel cells.
Today's engine technology could be adapted for use with hydrogen at
efficiencies comparable to hydrocarbon fueled engines, while advanced
engine technology could push the boundaries of efficiency even
further. Fuel cells hold the promise of higher efficiency than traditional
engines, as well as other engineering tradeoffs that might make for
quieter and possibly more reliable prime movers.

Production:
Hydrogen can be produced from diverse, domestic resources, including
fossil fuels, biomass, and water electrolysis with electricity. The
environmental impact and energy efficiency of hydrogen depends on
how it is produced. Several projects are underway to decrease costs
associated with hydrogen production.
There are several ways to produce hydrogen:
 Natural Gas Reforming/Gasification: Synthesis gas—a mixture of
hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and a small amount of carbon
dioxide—is created by reacting natural gas with high-temperature
steam. The carbon monoxide is reacted with water to produce
additional hydrogen. This method is the cheapest, most efficient,
and most common. Natural gas reforming using steam accounts
for the majority of hydrogen produced in the United States
annually.
A synthesis gas can also be created by reacting coal or biomass with
high-temperature steam and oxygen in a pressurized gasifier. This
converts the coal or biomass into gaseous components—a process
called gasification. The resulting synthesis gas contains hydrogen and
carbon monoxide, which is reacted with steam to separate the
hydrogen.
 Electrolysis: An electric current splits water into hydrogen and
oxygen. If the electricity is produced by renewable sources, such
as solar or wind, the resulting hydrogen will be considered
renewable as well, and has numerous emissions benefits. Power-
 to-hydrogen projects are taking off, using excess renewable
electricity, when available, to make hydrogen through electrolysis.
 Renewable Liquid Reforming: Renewable liquid fuels, such
as ethanol, are reacted with high-temperature steam to produce
hydrogen near the point of end use.
 Fermentation: Biomass is converted into sugar-rich feedstocks
that can be fermented to produce hydrogen.
Several hydrogen production methods are in development:
 High-Temperature Water Splitting: High temperatures generated
by solar concentrators or nuclear reactors drive chemical
reactions that split water to produce hydrogen.
 Photobiological Water Splitting: Microbes, such as green algae,
consume water in the presence of sunlight and produce hydrogen
as a byproduct.
 Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Photoelectrochemical
systems produce hydrogen from water using special
semiconductors and energy from sunlight.
The major hydrogen-producing states are California, Louisiana, and
Texas. Today, almost all the hydrogen produced in the United States is
used for refining petroleum, treating metals, producing fertilizer, and
processing foods.
The primary challenge for hydrogen production is reducing the cost of
production technologies to make the resulting hydrogen cost
competitive with conventional transportation fuels. Government and
industry research and development projects are reducing the cost as
well as the environmental impacts of hydrogen production
technologies. Learn more about hydrogen production from
the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office.

Methods and process:

Hydrogen (H2) is considered the most attractive form of energy for the
near future because its combustion is non-polluting. When hydrogen is
combined with oxygen from the air, it releases the chemical energy
stored in the H-H bond, producing just water vapor as the combustion
product. It can be stored as a pressurised gas or liquid, or distributed
over gas pipelines. These features make it an ideal candidate to replace
natural gas in the medium-to-long term.
Given that it does not produce greenhouse gases during combustion,
hydrogen has huge potential to reduce the CO2 emissions produced by
combustion of its fossil fuel precursors. In its free form, hydrogen is
almost non-existent on the Earth, so is not a primary energy source.
However, it can be produced from various precursors by means of
chemical or biochemical processes.
The chemicals industry producing ammonia, methanol and refined
petroleum consumes approximately 66% of annual H2 output, which is
estimated at 35 million metric tonnes (MTm). The rest is consumed in
other industrial processes. Hydrogen is considered an ideal fuel, as it
does not emit greenhouse gases during combustion. This feature
becomes even more attractive when fuel cells are used. These devices
turn the chemical energy stored in the H-H bond into electrical power
by means of a process that does not rely on the Carnot cycle. This
means the energy efficiency is two or three times that of a combustion
engine.
Industrial processes
Although H2 can be produced by reforming natural gas, naphtha, heavy
fuel oil or coal, the higher H/C (hydrogen-carbon) atomic ratio in
CH4 compared to other molecules suggests that natural gas –of which
the main component is CH4– is the best suited precursor for hydrogen
production.
1.Reforming hydrocarbons and methanol
Steam reforming of methane (CH4) is a process that has been used to
produce H2 for several decades. This process is currently used to
produce hydrogen industrially, as it is the most economic technology.
The chemical reaction involved is:

CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2

2.Electrolysis of water
When the volumes of hydrogen required for a particular application are
not large, it can be obtained by electrolysis of water. The electrolytic
reaction takes place in an alkaline medium as these increases electrical
conductivity. The hydrogen produced at the cathode has to be purified
as it contains impurities in the form of oxygen and a certain amount of
moisture. The hydrogen stream is dried over an absorbent and the
oxygen impurities are eliminated with a Deoxo converter. The
electrolysis process also produces oxygen at the anode. The volume is
half that of the hydrogen produced, as defined by the molecular
composition of water. Most electrolysers are of the tank type with
parallel electrodes. The heat released during the process is eliminated
by recirculating the water around the cells. It is worth noting that the
fact that the hydrogen produced by costs around 4.9-5.6 kWh per m3,
which makes it at least twice as expensive as hydrogen obtained from
reforming natural gas.
3.biomass
Hydrogen can be obtained from a renewable source such as cellulose
biomass. The cellulose can be turned into H2 via various thermo-
chemical processes such as combustion, liquefaction, pyrolysis and
gasification. Ligno-cellulose material is partially oxidised at
temperatures of over 1,000ºK, producing a gaseous fraction together
with a carbon residue that is subsequently reduced to form H2, CO,
CO2 and CH4. Gasification of biomass in the presence of O2 generates a
gas stream rich in hydrogen which is reformed with water vapour at the
exit from the gasifier to produce additional hydrogen. The main
drawback of the gasification of biomass is tar formation. The heavy
residues polymerise and form more complex structures that are not
suitable for the production of hydrogen by steam reforming. Tar
formation can be minimised by an appropriate design of gasifier,
incorporating catalytic additives, and by controlling the operating
parameters. The catalysts reduce the tar content, but are particularly
effective at improving the quality and enhance conversion of the gas
fraction produced. Another problem inherent in the gasification of
biomass is the formation of ash, which can cause a buildup of solids,
plugging and deactivation. These problems can be minimised by
extraction and fractioning.
4.Thermal processes
Other renewable processes use heat energy to produce hydrogen. These
processes are not catalytic and include thermal dissociation of water, using heat
from a high temperature energy source, such as nuclear reactors and solar
furnaces. The heat can be used to produce a series of chemical reactions yielding
net production of H2 and O2 at temperatures over 950ºK. One such process is
based on the decomposition of a metal sulphate.

5.Photochemical processes
One extremely attractive way of producing hydrogen is by dissociating water on a
semiconductor substrate using sunlight. The efficiency of this process is mainly
determined by the photo-physical properties and morphology of the
semiconductor material used.

6.Reforming ethanol and sugars

A simple way of transporting hydrogen is to use renewable precursors, such as
ethanol (C2H5OH) and sugars (C6H12O6) in the liquid phase. These precursors are
then transformed into hydrogen by means of reforming processes with steam or
under pressure in the liquid phase at the point of hydrogen consumption.

7.Water biophotolysis
Hydrogen can also be produced by biological systems. Some photosynthetic
micro-organisms are able to break water molecules down into their components
(H2 and O2). Certain algae, such as the Scenedesmus green algae, produce H2 when
they are illuminated with visible light or kept in anaerobic conditions in the dark
Conclusion:
Hydrogen energy end use technologies are not yet mature, unlike
conventional technologies. However, they offer potentially significant
advantages in terms of low or zero emissions and flexibility in fuel
sources. As immature technologies, costs are high and reliability and
durability are not yet proven. Nevertheless, early demonstrations of
hydrogen vehicles using internal combustion engines and fuel cells are
under way and expected to become more widespread.
Similarly, hydrogen energy systems for power and heat production are
operating under demonstration conditions in many areas. The possible
integration of hydrogen energy storage with renewable energy
sources offers the prospect of economically efficient remote power
systems and reductions in the external costs of energy associated with
many fossil fuels.
Over the long term, hydrogen energy is likely to be used in many
everyday situations, and hydrogen energy technologies will replace
many conventional technologies. The economics of such hydrogen
technologies will improve as they enter widespread use, and the added
value of low pollution should further enhance the value of such
systems.