Touted as Clean, 'Blue' Hydrogen May be Worse than Gas or Coal
AnonTechie writes:
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/08/touted-clean-blue-hydrogen-may-be-worse-gas-or-coal:
"Blue" hydrogen - an energy source that involves a process for making hydrogen by using methane in natural gas - is being lauded by many as a clean, green energy to help reduce global warming. But Cornell and Stanford University researchers believe it may harm the climate more than burning fossil fuel.
The carbon footprint to create blue hydrogen is more than 20% greater than using either natural gas or coal directly for heat, or about 60% greater than using diesel oil for heat, according to new research published Aug. 12 in Energy Science & Engineering.
[...] Blue hydrogen starts with converting methane to hydrogen and carbon dioxide by using heat, steam and pressure[*], or gray hydrogen, but goes further to capture some of the carbon dioxide. Once the byproduct carbon dioxide and the other impurities are sequestered, it becomes blue hydrogen, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The process to make blue hydrogen takes a large amount of energy, according to the researchers, which is generally provided by burning more natural gas.
[...] An ecologically friendly "green" hydrogen does exist, but it remains a small sector and it has not been commercially realized. Green hydrogen is achieved when water goes through electrolysis (with electricity supplied by solar, wind or hydroelectric power) and the water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen.
[Said Professor Robert Howarth]: "The best hydrogen, the green hydrogen derived from electrolysis - if used wisely and efficiently - can be that path to a sustainable future. Blue hydrogen is totally different."
[*] See the Sabatier reaction on Wikipedia.
Journal Reference:
Robert W. Howarth, Mark Z. Jacobson. How green is blue hydrogen? [open], Energy Science & Engineering (DOI: 10.1002/ese3.956)
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