Comments on: Alternative Methods for Producing Hydrogen http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/blog2/index.php/hydrogen-fuel-production/alternative-methods-for-producing-hydrogen/ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:57:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Rex http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/blog2/index.php/hydrogen-fuel-production/alternative-methods-for-producing-hydrogen/comment-page-1/#comment-58 Rex Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:45:00 +0000 http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/blog2/index.php/uncategorized/alternative-methods-for-producing-hydrogen/#comment-58 At the National Hydrogen Association, we witness first-hand the effort to find long-term solutions to produce hydrogen. While progress has been made, what this list illustrates is the flexibility hydrogen offers in terms of production. The long-term goal is to produce hydrogen from renewable resources, using alternative energies like wind and solar to capitalize on hydrogen in its purest form, where water is the by product. <br/><br/>In the short term, using natural gas and coal with carbon sequestration will reduce carbon emissions, and reduce our dependency on foreign energy imports. The U.S. has the largest estimated recoverable reserves of coal, 273 billion tons, possessing 27 percent of the world’s reserves. When hydrogen is extracted from coal using a gasification process, carbon is naturally released. However, when carbon emissions are sequestered those emissions are brought down to almost none.<br/><br/>Using natural gas in the short-term presents advantages as well. An estimated 2 percent increase in natural gas production would provide enough hydrogen to fuel 10 million fuel cell vehicles, while reducing carbon emissions about 50 percent. Furthermore, 53 percent of all natural gas is currently used in the U.S in the production of gasoline already. By reducing gasoline production, the natural gas could then be used to produce hydrogen fuel. <br/><br/>In addition, using nuclear energy to produce hydrogen has great potential. Nuclear energy can produce high quality hydrogen in large quantities at a relatively low cost without any air emissions. Uranium is the main fuel for nuclear reactors, and is readily available. Compared to natural gas or coal, uranium is low in cost, and the cost of nuclear electricity is less sensitive to its price fluctuations. One uranium fuel pellet, about the size of the tip of your little finger, has the equivalent energy potential of 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal, or 149 gallons of oil. <br/><br/>Even though each method of production is has its own benefits and drawbacks, they all can help to make the transition to a hydrogen economy. The ultimate benefits of moving towards a hydrogen economy are to reduce our energy costs, improve our environmental outlook by reducing carbon emissions, and become more energy independent to improve national security.<br/><br/>For additional information about hydrogen production, please visit the National Hydrogen Association website at www.hydrogenassociation.org, the premier source for information on hydrogen and hydrogen technologies. At the National Hydrogen Association, we witness first-hand the effort to find long-term solutions to produce hydrogen. While progress has been made, what this list illustrates is the flexibility hydrogen offers in terms of production. The long-term goal is to produce hydrogen from renewable resources, using alternative energies like wind and solar to capitalize on hydrogen in its purest form, where water is the by product.

In the short term, using natural gas and coal with carbon sequestration will reduce carbon emissions, and reduce our dependency on foreign energy imports. The U.S. has the largest estimated recoverable reserves of coal, 273 billion tons, possessing 27 percent of the world’s reserves. When hydrogen is extracted from coal using a gasification process, carbon is naturally released. However, when carbon emissions are sequestered those emissions are brought down to almost none.

Using natural gas in the short-term presents advantages as well. An estimated 2 percent increase in natural gas production would provide enough hydrogen to fuel 10 million fuel cell vehicles, while reducing carbon emissions about 50 percent. Furthermore, 53 percent of all natural gas is currently used in the U.S in the production of gasoline already. By reducing gasoline production, the natural gas could then be used to produce hydrogen fuel.

In addition, using nuclear energy to produce hydrogen has great potential. Nuclear energy can produce high quality hydrogen in large quantities at a relatively low cost without any air emissions. Uranium is the main fuel for nuclear reactors, and is readily available. Compared to natural gas or coal, uranium is low in cost, and the cost of nuclear electricity is less sensitive to its price fluctuations. One uranium fuel pellet, about the size of the tip of your little finger, has the equivalent energy potential of 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal, or 149 gallons of oil.

Even though each method of production is has its own benefits and drawbacks, they all can help to make the transition to a hydrogen economy. The ultimate benefits of moving towards a hydrogen economy are to reduce our energy costs, improve our environmental outlook by reducing carbon emissions, and become more energy independent to improve national security.

For additional information about hydrogen production, please visit the National Hydrogen Association website at http://www.hydrogenassociation.org, the premier source for information on hydrogen and hydrogen technologies.

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