HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE

 

     Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. This is great if we need if we are going to use it in the future for a fuel source. At the present time, it looks s like the best way to produce hydrogen in large amounts would be through electrolysis. The problem is that electrolysis requires large amounts of electricity. To produce all the necessary electricity researchers have decided that wind turbine generators ay be an answer. Once the turbines are up and running they can produce 300 kilowatts an hour. By placing the turbines in windy places like the Aleutian Islands, enough electricity would be produced to produce the large amounts of hydrogen needed to fuel a nation.

 

 

     After the hydrogen has been produced, there has to be a way to transport it to the people. One of these two approaches is to produce the hydrogen at a centralized location, like the Aleutian Islands, and then transport it to the people using tankers and pipelines. This process would be much like the infrastructure we see today. The second approach only involves the retail fueling stations. In this approach the fueling stations will produce the hydrogen themselves and provide it to the consumers directly.

 

 

     Finally, once the hydrogen is sold to the consumer it then has to be stored. The two types of tanks used for storage are the metal hydride tank and the liquid hydrogen tank. The metal hydride tank is a solid tank which is used to store hydrogen gas. The liquid hydrogen tank has been around longer and is used to store liquid hydrogen. Both have minor setbacks in there design, and are discussed in the paper.

 

 

 

 

 

      For many years, the oil companies and automotive manufacturers were pointing the finger at one another as to who should initiate the hydrogen changeover.  This is somewhat an issue of the past now, as partnerships have been forming to get the ball rolling.  GM and Shell Oil teamed up in late 2004 by opening a single pump at a gas station in Washington DC.  This single pump will supply hydrogen fuel to 8 minivans as somewhat of a political demonstration that a hydrogen infrastructure is possible.  Essentially, this demonstration exercises the scenario of “will consumers be able to easily and efficiently access and fill their vehicles with hydrogen fuel”.

 

 

     In Germany, BMW has teamed up with the German Transport Energy Strategy in an effort to create a hydrogen infrastructure.  This co-op has been successful so far as many hydrogen refueling stations have been built throughout Germany.  Through the construction of a pipeline and transport system, the infrastructure has begun to grow, and will continue to do so until a full changeover has occurred.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     A lack of sex appeal is another reason for the infrastructure not taking off.  Producing vehicles which appeal to consumers will help to spawn the demand necessary to begin an infrastructure.  Vehicles, such as the  Mazda RX-8, Hummer H2, and 2000 BMW 750hL, have already been hydrogen engineered with prototypes and/or production models produced, which could help to generate the necessary demand for a hydrogen infrastructure.  As seen in the image to the right, BMW has had a long heritage of incorporating a hydrogen prototype version of their 7-series since 1978. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      The 2000 BMW 750hL features a bi-valent, 5.4L, V-12 engine;  “bi-valent” means that the engine has the capability to run as a gasoline-hydrogen hybrid, or to run solely off hydrogen or gasoline.  The car is equipped with a 140L hydrogen tank, capable of powering the car across 250 miles.  A limited production run hit the German market in 2001 and, by a recent account, clocked over 106,000 miles over the next three years.

 

 

 

     Safety is another concern with must be addressed.  The general public has not been made aware of the safety advantages of the use of hydrogen fuel in automobiles.  A quotation, accompanied by pictures, from EVworld.com (please check the REFERENCE PAGE) is shown below:

 

“On a dark Florida night in 2001 an unusual and revealing experiment took place. Dr. Michael Swain with the University of Miami at Coral Gables attempted to simulate two car fires, one created by a 1/16th inch puncture in a gasoline fuel line, the other by a leaking hydrogen connector. He video taped the experiment to document what would happen if the leaks ignited. As the photos below clearly demonstrate, consumer fears about hydrogen as a transportation fuel would seem to be pretty much unfounded.”

 

     (The car on the left contains a hydrogen tank in the trunk, while the car on the right is a gasoline powered car, and the amount of time elapsed from ignition and is listed below each frame.)

 

0 seconds

 

3 seconds

30 seconds

1 minute, 30 seconds

2 minutes, 20 seconds

 

     Additionally, when considering public safety, we must evaluate the supply side of hydrogen use, as well. The “gas stations” which would be used to supply hydrogen to the customer, would utilize sub-terranean storage tanks, just as are currently used to store gasoline.  Again, when hydrogen tanks leak, they typically vent upward; if an underground hydrogen tank were to somehow leak, the hydrogen would be somewhat “contained” and far less likely to ignite and cause an explosion.  Contrarily, with gasoline leaks the gasoline travels downwards and contaminates the drinking water supply is some areas, as has occurred in some areas of North Florida.  This kind of pollution isn’t the case with hydrogen, as the leaking molecules will typically combine with oxygen in the soil to produce water.