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Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen Production
One advantage is that it stores approximately 2.6 times the energy per unit mass as gasoline,
and
the disadvantage is that it needs about 4 times the volume for a given amount of energy.
A 15 gallon automobile gasoline tank contains 90 pounds of gasoline.
The corresponding hydrogen tank would be 60 gallons, but the hydrogen would weigh only 34
pounds.

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Current global hydrogen production
48 from natural gas
30 from oil
18 from coal
4 from electrolysis of water

Primary Uses for Hydrogen Today
1. About half is used to produce ammonia (NH3)
fertilizer.
2. The other half of current hydrogen production
is used to convert heavy petroleum sources into
lighter fractions suitable for use as fuels.

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Hydrogen Production Processes
Steam Methane Reforming
Coal Gasification
Partial Oxidation of Hydrocarbons
Biomass Gasification
Biomass Pyrolysis
Electrolysis
Thermochemical
Photochemical
Photobiological

Steam Methane Reforming
Most common method of producing commercial bulk hydrogen.
Most common method of producing hydrogen used in the industrial synthesis of ammonia.
It is the least expensive method.
High temperature process (700 ‐ 1100 C).
Nickel based catalyst (Ni)

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The Steam Methane Reforming Process
At 700 1100 C and in the presence of a nickel based catalyst (Ni), steam reacts with methane to
yield carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
CH4 H2O ? CO 3 H2
Additional hydrogen can be recovered by a lower‐temperature gas‐shift reaction with the
carbon monoxide produced. The reaction is summarized by
CO H2O ? CO2 H2

Purification of Hydrogen
Carbon dioxide and other impurities are removed from the gas
stream, leaving essentially pure
hydrogen.
Endothermic reaction (Heat must be added to the reactants for the
reaction to occur.)

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Coal Gasification
Well‐established commercial technology competitive with
SMR only where oil and/or natural gas are expensive.
Coal could replace natural gas and oil as the primary
feedstock for hydrogen production, since
it is so plentiful in the world.

Partial Oxidation Hydrocarbons
Process can be used to produce hydrogen from heavy hydrocarbons 
such as diesel fuel and residual oil.
Any hydrocarbon feedstock that can be compressed or pumped may 
be used in this technology.

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Partial Oxidation
Methane and other hydrocarbons in natural gas are reacted with a limited
mount of oxygen (typically, from air) that is not enough to completely oxidize the
hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water.
CH4 ½O2 ? CO 2H2 (heat)
Exothermic reaction (heat is evolved)

Thermochemical Production of Hydrogen
When water is heated to above 2500 oC, it separates into oxygen 
and hydrogen in a process known as thermolysis.
However, at such high temperatures, it is difficult to prevent the 
oxygen and hydrogen from recombining to form water.

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Thermochemical Production of Hydrogen
Thermochemical water‐splitting cycles can lower the temperature
and help separate oxygen and hydrogen products to produce pure
hydrogen gas.
These cycles can improve the efficiency of hydrogen production from
30 for conventional electrolysis to around 50 efficiency.
One of the most promising cycles so far is the sulfur‐iodine (S‐I)
cycle.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) and iodine (I2) are fed into the cycle as 
chemical catalysts.
A catalyst lowers the activation energy of a reaction without 
being used up by the reaction.

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Biomass Production of Hydrogen 
Hydrogen can be produced numerous ways from biomass.
Biomass is defined as a renewable resource made from renewable materials. Examples of
biomass sources include
I. plant scraps
II. garbage
III. human wastes
Gasification of biomass could be a way of extracting hydrogen from these organic sources.

Biomass Production of Hydrogen
The biomass is first converted into a gas through high‐temperature gasifying.
The hydrogen rich vapor is condensed in pyrolysis oils.
These oils can be steam reformed to generate hydrogen.
This process has resulted in hydrogen yields of 12 ‐ 17 hydrogen by weight of the 
dry biomass.
When biological waste material is used as a feedstock, this process becomes a 
completely renewable, sustainable method of hydrogen generation.

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Electrolysis
Electrolysis is the technical name for using electricity to split water into its 
constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen.
The splitting of water is accomplished by passing a DC electric current through 
water.
The electricity enters the water at the cathode, a negatively charged terminal, 
passes through the water and exists via the anode, the positively charged 
terminal.
The hydrogen is collected at the cathode and the oxygen is collected at the 
anode. Electrolysis produces very pure hydrogen for use in the electronics, 
pharmaceutical and food industries

The hydrogen is collected at the cathode and the oxygen is collected 
at the anode.
Electrolysis produces very pure hydrogen for use in the electronics, 
pharmaceutical and food industries.

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Photobiological
This method involves using sunlight, a biological component,
catalysts and an engineered system.
Specific organisms, algae and bacteria, produce hydrogen as a by
product of their metabolic processes.
These organisms generally live in water and therefore are biologically
splitting the water into its component elements.
Currently, this technology is still in the research and development
stage and the theoretical sunlight conversion efficiencies have been
estimated up to 24.

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THANKS

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