Study Notes on Hydrogen As A Fuel For UGC NET Paper-1

By Mohit Choudhary|Updated : October 1st, 2022

UGC NET Exam is conducted twice a year by NTA. There are ten units in Paper-1 and each unit has equal weightage in the examination. Most Important Topics in UGC NET Environment, Logical Reasoning, Teaching Aptitude, Research Aptitude, Communication, ICT, Higher Education.

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.

Thank you, 

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