In terms of hydrogen production, hydrogen can come from a variety of sources, but natural gas is still the most widely used in this regard.
Hydrogen production technologies are expected to play a major role in decarbonization in the future as a result of the push for energy transition and technological advancements
Several new hydrogen production technologies are described in a recent report by the International Energy Forum, with the goal of increasing hydrogen’s role in carbon-intensive industries.
About 70% of the world’s hydrogen is produced using natural gas, primarily methane, and in the United States, that number rises to 95%. This method is the most widely used, most efficient, and most cost-effective because it makes use of existing gas infrastructure.
To make hydrogen, methane must be heated to high temperatures with steam and a catalyst, which breaks down the methane molecules into carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
Using this method produces between 9 and 12 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of gray hydrogen, according to the report. A reduction in emissions is possible with new technologies that use nuclear power to heat steam reforming of methane rather than burning fossil fuels, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS).
According to the report, a recent study by Nature Catalyses found a simplified process for extracting more than 97% of the mass of hydrogen in plastics as a new way to re-form methane into hydrogen.
For the production of hydrogen from any carbon or biomass source, gasification is a less advanced technology. Hydrogen can then be separated from the source gas using a high-temperature gasifier and steam.
Because of its ability to reduce carbon intensity in hydrogen production, the US Department of Energy expects the possibility of deploying biomass gasification in the near term, according to the report. Governments have shown interest in this method;
Ethanol and bio-oil can be used to produce hydrogen from biomass-derived fluids, which have the advantage of being more transportable than solid biomass feedstocks.
In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the world is relying on electrolysis to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, a process that produces green hydrogen that emits no carbon dioxide.
According to the report, electrolysis technology is still expensive and ineffective at the moment, but as policies support the energy transition, the cost is expected to drop significantly.
Hydrogen can be extracted from water using a variety of long-term technical methods, including thermo-chemical cracking of water molecules at high temperatures, according to the International Energy Forum.
In the future, photoelectrochemical water decomposition could be used to extract hydrogen from water molecules by combining solar energy with semiconductors. Green algae that consume water and produce hydrogen under certain conditions can also produce hydrogen through photobiological cracking of water molecules.
