Post by account_disabled on Mar 14, 2024 0:34:58 GMT -5
Hydrogen: A truly sustainable alternative fuel Chuck Hayes, Global Technical Director, Swagelok The world continues to develop alternatives to fossil fuels. The main motivation is sustainability. Reducing and, where appropriate, eliminating carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions produced by many diverse applications is an increasingly important objective. When it comes to any potential alternative fuel, it's important to ask: Is it truly sustainable? Critics raise this question about hydrogen, one of the most promising alternative fuels that continues to gain favor in many applications. The answer is "Yes, hydrogen can be a sustainable alternative fuel." And in this latest installment of our series to debunk common hydrogen myths, we'll explore the different ways hydrogen is produced and why it represents a truly sustainable alternative fuel option.
Hydrogen myths More articles in this series: Why hydrogen is a safe fuel source Why hydrogen offers satisfactory autonomy Why hydrogen is a profitable fuel MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTONOMY OF HYDROGEN VEHICLES Hydrogen fuel types and production methods It is important to note that the sustainability of hydrogen depends on how it is made. Energy is needed to produce hydrogen, and the source of that energy and the production method used determine the extent to which BYB Directory hydrogen is truly sustainable. To understand to what extent hydrogen production is "clean", it is important to know the classification by color: Gray hydrogen production diagramGray Hydrogen Gray hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, resulting in emissions of a small amount of carbon dioxide compared to the direct combustion of fossil fuels.
Currently, gray hydrogen is the cheapest to generate and accounts for the majority of global hydrogen production. Two main production methods are used to create gray hydrogen: steam methane reforming and coal gasification. Both processes release CO 2 into the atmosphere, making gray hydrogen the least sustainable of the types we are going to discuss here. Blue hydrogen production diagramBlue Hydrogen Like gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen is formed through the steam reforming of methane and the gasification of coal. But in the blue hydrogen production process, CO 2 emissions are captured and stored rather than released into the atmosphere. This carbon capture makes blue hydrogen classed as a low-carbon fuel and a more sustainable option than gray hydrogen.
Hydrogen myths More articles in this series: Why hydrogen is a safe fuel source Why hydrogen offers satisfactory autonomy Why hydrogen is a profitable fuel MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTONOMY OF HYDROGEN VEHICLES Hydrogen fuel types and production methods It is important to note that the sustainability of hydrogen depends on how it is made. Energy is needed to produce hydrogen, and the source of that energy and the production method used determine the extent to which BYB Directory hydrogen is truly sustainable. To understand to what extent hydrogen production is "clean", it is important to know the classification by color: Gray hydrogen production diagramGray Hydrogen Gray hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, resulting in emissions of a small amount of carbon dioxide compared to the direct combustion of fossil fuels.
Currently, gray hydrogen is the cheapest to generate and accounts for the majority of global hydrogen production. Two main production methods are used to create gray hydrogen: steam methane reforming and coal gasification. Both processes release CO 2 into the atmosphere, making gray hydrogen the least sustainable of the types we are going to discuss here. Blue hydrogen production diagramBlue Hydrogen Like gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen is formed through the steam reforming of methane and the gasification of coal. But in the blue hydrogen production process, CO 2 emissions are captured and stored rather than released into the atmosphere. This carbon capture makes blue hydrogen classed as a low-carbon fuel and a more sustainable option than gray hydrogen.