There are various manufacturing methods that would be able to provide additional materials or chemicals while simultaneously producing hydrogen that could either be sequestered or used immediately for electrical production. This is the case for several different industrial products which are covered in this essay. One important aspect to mention is the use of coal that can be used to make products or generate electricity and produce hydrogen alltogether. The ability to make certain products out of various types of carbon derived from coal may be a realizable process that in addition can produce hydrogen as well. Researchers have commented that coal may be more valuable if it makes carbon based products as well as hydrogen versus just it's usual use in the production of electrical power. For example, coal could be used to produce graphite or carbon black. Graphite can be used in batteries and electrical equipment but is also a needed material in
moving parts related products. In addition, it has been commented that solid carbons obtained from coal could be very useful as construction materials either as concrete replacement or preformed structural parts [
1. Halloran 2008]. Hydrogen could be produced from kilns similar to how Coke Oven Gas (COG) made from the steel industry is done. COG related gas has a very high hydrogen content (above 50 %). Other useful carbon based materials include
carbon fiber reinforced plastics which are composite materials made from plastics, aluminum or fiberglass. Just as important, it has been commented that carbon nanotubes could be made from natural gas (methane) based chemical deposition that could also produce hydrogen as a byproduct. These types of general processes are termed HECAM (Hydrogen Energy with Carbon Materials). There are also many coal based electrical power generation plants that have the need to have the carbon dioxide based flue gases recycled. Companies are beginning to find methods of sequestering the carbon dioxide from coal power plants and in addition to producing and sequestering hydrogen.
There is ongoing research and development of
additional reactors built next to coal plants that are able to sequester carbon dioxide as well as produce additional hydrogen. The manufacture of certain chemical products or powders may also produce additional amounts of hydrogen that can be collected and reused. This may be the case for zinc and/or iron oxide powders and acetic acid production. There are already a variety of different methods to produce both of the previously mentioned chemicals.
There are several methods used to make acetic acid which also produce other chemical products such as other alcohols or organic acids (from alkane oxidation). However, it has been shown experimentally that acetic acid, ketene, hydrogen and other gases can be produced from a high thermal process using acetate [
2. Rajadurai 1994]. There are also experimental manufacturing methods that can make hydrogen from the process of
multi-step thermochemical water splitting upon production of iron and/or zinc based oxides [
3. Roeb et al 2009]. The use of zinc oxide can be used as an
adsorbent material for desulfurization of industrial gases. The biofuel industry itself can also produce hydrogen from various techniques such as steam, autothermal and partial oxidation reformations obtained from chemicals such as alcohols and glycerol [
4. AL da Silva 2011]. Even the lignin rich material from bioethanol processing can be used for
further power/heat or fuel additives as well as hydrogen generation. The manufacturing materials/chemicals that can produce hydrogen are not an exhaustive list and there will most likely be many more manufacturing processes that make additional hydrogen for collection/storage or immediate use. The generation of electrical power as well as biofuel production are other sources that can make and sequester additional amounts of hydrogen. The increase of industries such as these could bring about additional materials as well as helping to further hydrogen energy industry which requires its own infrastructure much like the petroleum or other energy related industries.
REFERENCES
1. "Extraction of Hydrogen from Fossil Fuels with Production of Solid Carbon Materials", International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Vol 33 issue 9 pgs 2218 - 2224 [2008] by J. Halloran
2. "Pathways for Carboxylic Acid Decomposition on Transition Metal Oxides", Catalysis Reviews : Science and Engineering Vol 36 No 3 pgs 385 - 403 [1994] by S. Rajadurai
3. "Thermodynamic Analysis of Two Step Solar Water Splitting with Mixed Iron Oxides", International Journal of Energy Research Vol 33 issue 10 pgs 893 - 902 [2009] by M. Roeb, N. Gathmann
4. "Hydrogen Production by Sorption Enhanced Steam Reforming of Oxygenated Hydrocarbons (ethanol, glycerol, n-butanol, methanol) : Thermodynamic Modelling", International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Vol 36 No 3 pgs 2057 - 2075 [2011] by AL da Silva, IL Muller
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KEYWORDS: Hydrogen Energy with Carbon Materials, Coke Oven Gas, coal conversion into graphite - carbon black, construction materials from coal, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics, Carbon dioxide sequestering hydrogen generation reactors next to coal plants,
Hydrogen from acetate - acetic acid production, thermochemical water splitting using zinc iron oxides, hydrogen from biofuel production
