Hydrogen Gas Fuel - Alternative To Gasoline
Hydrogen is an element that exists in abundance all over the earth. It can be found in water and natural and renewable matter such as plants, compost materials, even algae. Thanks to its abundance, it has potential to be used for a number of applications, including as a fuel. Hydrogen can be converted into hydrogen gas fuel for many of the same uses as fossil fuels are used. Hydrogen gas fuel in its purest form must be separated from the other elements that bond it through some chemical process. When hydrogen gas fuel is blended with pure oxygen and ignited the only resulting emissions are heat and water, you can’t get much greener than that!
There are benefits and drawbacks to each method of extracting hydrogen. Some methods create harmful emissions during refining, and some means of production are less costly than others. The steam methane reforming method is the one most widely used in the United States at present, and it works by heating natural gas to specific temperatures so that hydrogen can be separated from the rest of the natural gas.
When building hydrogen production facilities, location is a major concern. However, as a long term project they are worth it under the electrolysis method, as no harmful greenhouse gas emissions are produced. New infrastructure would almost certainly be required if the level of hydrogen gas fuel needed to satisfy mainstream demand were to be created; this would make start-up costs a rather expensive proposition. The use of electricity generated through means such as wind power or solar panels could allow us to employ electrolysis (the process of passing an electrical current through water via an ionic transfer device), a technology that we are already utilizing in a more cost-efficient and environmentally responsible manner.
Hydrogen is an extremely flexible fuel as it can be stored and transported in both liquid and gas forms. Hydrogen gas fuel can be transported in its vapor form roughly one to two hundred miles from the refining facility. For long distance transport up to one thousand miles the hydrogen is transported in liquid form requiring specially designed super-insulated tanks.
Of all the different types of fuels, hydrogen gas fuel has the highest energy to weight ratio. In comparison to gasoline, hydrogen produces approximately three times more energy without the ill effects of carbon dioxide and sulfur emissions and more than six times more energy than we can get from coal.
Hydrogen gas has much better and more efficient combustion through a larger range of air fuel mixtures than gasoline. Hydrogen gas fuel has an octane rating of 130 and this is higher than the highest octane gasoline available at present at the gas station.
Hydrogen gas fuel can be used to power everything from cities to cell phones. Vehicles ranging from scooters to spacecraft can be operated using hydrogen gas. Consumer vehicles can be produced or even retrofitted to burn this earth friendly fuel. Time will tell if hydrogen gas becomes a viable alternative as gas prices continue to soar. Given it’s abundance and the right infrastructure it could solve many of the worlds energy and environmental problems.
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