Hydrogen Overview
Hydrogen Overview
Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe. It is an energy carrier, not an energy source, meaning that it stores and delivers energy in a usable form. In its pure form (H2), it is a colorless and odorless gas. However, since it combines easily with other elements, hydrogen is rarely found by itself in nature and is usually found as a part of other compounds, including fossil fuels, plant material, and water. Hydrogen Production
Hydrogen can be produced using a variety of domestic energy resources - fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, with carbon capture and sequestration; renewables, such as biomass, and renewable energy technologies, including solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower; and nuclear power. Specific technologies and processes are described below. Thermochemical Processes
* Steam methane reforming: In this process, high-temperature steam is used to extract hydrogen from a methane source such as natural gas. This is the most common method of producing hydrogen; about 95 percent of the hydrogen we use today in the United States is produced using this process.
* Partial oxidation: Scientists are exploring a process that produces hydrogen by simultaneously separating oxygen from air and partially oxidizing methane.
* Other thermal processes: Other processes include (1) splitting water using heat from a solar concentrator, and (2) gasifying or burning biomass (i.e., biological material, such as plants or agricultural waste) to generate a bio-oil or gas, which is then reformed to produce hydrogen.
Electrolytic Processes
* Electrolysis: In electrolysis, electricity is used to separate water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen. Current electrolysis systems are very energy intensive. The challenge is to develop low cost and more energy efficient electrolysis technologies.
Photolytic Processes
* Photolytic methods: In photolysis, sunlight is used to split water. Two photolytic processes are being explored: (1) photobiological methods, in which microbes, when exposed to sunlight, split water to produce hydrogen, and (2) photoelectrolysis, in which semi-conductors, when exposed to sunlight and submersed in water, generate enough electricity to produce hydrogen by splitting the water.
Food price rises force biofuel U-turn (Independent)
It takes six days for a blend of chicken fat and soybean oil to emerge from the reactors as B100 biodiesel, but the process is such at Pinnacle Biofuels in Crossett that the company produces 29,000 gallons of diesel per day, or 20 gallons per minute.'Read more
From Chicken Fat to B100 Diesel Fuel: The Pinnacle Biofuels Plant (Ashley County Ledger)
BRUSSELS, Belgium – 07/03/08 – The European Union has opened anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into imports of biofuel from the US.'Read more
EU Charges the US With Dumping Biofuel (CalTrade Report)
The U.K. Guardian reports some astonishing numbers from a "confidential" World Bank study on energy crops and grain prices.'Read more
A biofuel food-price bombshell (Salon.com)
Offering a range of equipment from portable instruments to laboratory analysers, leading analytical company Quantitech believes it has the perfect solution for any biodiesel testing requirement.'Read more
Multiple choices for biodiesel testing (Environmental Data Interactive Exchange)
The office of Britain's Prince Charles says the royal has converted his 1970 Aston Martin car to run on surplus wine-based biofuel.Clarence House, the prince's office, said Charles converted the car -- a 21st birthday present from his mother -- to consume 100 percent bioethanol to help reduce carbon emissions, CNN reported Tuesday.The office said Charles previously converted several of his other ...'Read more
Prince Charles converts car for wine fuel (Moldova.org)
JAKARTA (Thomson Financial) - Indonesia may have to spend more than 200 trillion rupiah ($21.7 billion) for fuel subsidy alone if the oil price averages at $140 per barrel this year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday.'Read more
(AFX UK Focus) 2008-07-02 05:44 Indonesia sees FY fuel subsidy topping $21.7 bln if oil averages $140 a barrel (Interactive Investor)
Britain's Prince Charles has converted his 38-year-old Aston Martin to run on biofuel made from surplus wine, his office revealed Tuesday.'Read more
Prince Charles' car runs on wine (CNN.com)
Companies West Group Inc. (Frankfurt: A38) has financed the purchase of a Biodiesel Reactor as part of Companies West Group Inc.'s ongoing strategic alliance investment commitment.'Read more
Companies West Group Inc. Continues Investment in Alternative Energy Resources (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance)
Roy Bardole has been filling his farm equipment with biodiesel for more than five years. It’s a natural thing for the soybean grower and United Soybean Board state director to do.'Read more