Recently, firms such as NTPC Ltd, Acme solar, Indian Oil corporation and Greenko are looking at hydrogen as a new opportunity for energy.
Hydrogen as a fuel
- Hydrogen as a fuel is a zero-emission fuel burned with oxygen.
- It is used in fuel cells or internal combustion engines.
- It has begun to be used in commercial fuel cell vehicles, such as passenger cars, and has been used in fuel cell buses for many years.
- It is also used as a fuel for spacecraft propulsion.
- Hydrogen is abundant in our environment and is stored in hydrocarbons (such as methane), water and other organic matter.
- It has an advantage over conventional fuel because of its abundance, better combustion, high energy density, non-polluting nature etc.
Production
- Hydrogen production does not occur naturally on the earth in large quantities.
- To produce hydrogen on an industrial scale requires primary energy input.
- Hydrogen fuel can be produced by the electrolysis of water or from methane.
- Today, the majority of hydrogen, nearly 95% is produced from fossil fuels by steam reforming or partial oxidation of methane and coal gasification.
- Only a small quantity of hydrogen is produced from other routes such as biomass gasification or electrolysis of water.
- Hydrogen in India is produced mainly for commercial purposes for the fertilizer industry, petroleum refining and chemical industries.
- A cleaner method of hydrogen production chiefly constitutes electrolysis, via chemical or photoelectrochemical routes.
Types of hydrogen depending upon the process of extraction
Green hydrogen
- It is derived by electrolysis of water, separating the hydrogen atom within it from oxygen using renewable energy that eliminates emissions during process.
Grey hydrogen
- Hydrogen derived using fossil fuels is called grey hydrogen.
Blue hydrogen
- It is derived from natural gas through the process of steam methane reforming (SMR). SMR mixes natural gas with very hot steam, in the presence of a catalyst, where a chemical reaction creates hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
Advantage
- It is non-polluting. The use of hydrogen as a fuel will reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It only leaves water vapour and heat as emissions and releases no greenhouse gas.
- The use of hydrogen can help in reducing the crude oil import bills for India.
- Hydrogen is available in abundance and can be produced from many sources like methane, biomass, coal, water or gasoline.
- Hydrogen is highly efficient as a fuel. It means that automobiles that use hydrogen as a fuel will travel more distance than one equally used by petrol or diesel.
We hope you all understood Hydrogen as fuel for Paper-1 for UGC NET Exam 2022.
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