Hydrogen Alternative Energy

Hydrogen Alternative Energy

Many of you may not have put hydrogen in with the various alternative energy forms. Most of us are familiar with wind, water, geothermal, nuclear, and solar energy...but hydrogen - not so much.

We also have a vague idea that these types of enhanced natural resources can save our planet, but we also have heard that alternative energy may have some disadvantages that may not be as talked about as they should be - and where does hydrogen alternative energy fall into this equation?

This page on benefits-of-recycling.com offers some interesting facts on how hydrogen has been transformed from its natural state into an alternative that deserves a closer look.

Hydrogen Alternative Energy / How this important element fits in...

Hydrogen is commonly defined today as the energy carrier, but not energy source. The main task of any energy carrier is to transport it from one place to another. The most familiar example of energy carrier is electricity, which is a primary energy carrier in the world. Just like electricity, hydrogen can also be used to carry energy from its source to the place where it is required.

Hydrogen, being the most abundant substance in the Universe, is practically unavailable in its pure form on Earth. That is why we cannot use it as direct energy source, like oil, gas, or coal. However, hydrogen still occurs widely in multiple chemical structures, the most common of which are water and hydrocarbons. That is why, in order to use hydrogen as energy source, we should first get hydrogen.

Hydrogen Alternative Energy / Exploring the Various Methods

There are several methods developed these days to separate hydrogen gas from water, biomass, or natural gas. Producing hydrogen from natural gas methane is currently the major way of producing hydrogen. However, this method is considered to be not environmentally friendly in view of the large amount of greenhouse gases emissions, which have already been linked to ozone depletion and global warming.

Electrolysis is another method to get hydrogen. It allows separating hydrogen from water, and it is safe for the environment. However, the catch with electrolysis is that this process is very expensive, and usually more resources are spent to make hydrogen than can be further generated by the received hydrogen.

Hydrogen Alternative Energy / Fuel of the Future

Hydrogen is currently widely discussed by scientists as the fuel of future. First of all, this is because hydrogen is the most widely occurring element in the Universe. While all the major common energy sources, such as oil, gas, and coal are not renewable and their amounts on Earth are being exhausted rapidly, hydrogen is readily available in abundance, so it looks very promising and tempting.

The only thing we need is to find a cost-effective and reliable method of producing pure hydrogen. Another strong point of this gas as energy source is that it represents an absolutely green form of energy. When hydrogen is mixed with oxygen, electricity is generated, and the only by-product of this energy generation is water.

Nowadays, hydrogen as fuel is primarily used at spaceships and space shuttles. It is the hydrogen, which lifts them into the space and supplies electricity to all the systems during the flight. Thanks to rapid development of technologies, hydrogen fuel cells have already migrated from space shuttles into ordinary road vehicles, cars and buses, making them much cleaner and environmentally friendly.

Of course, modern hydrogen-fueled vehicles are still rare on roads, because their cost is still much higher than the cost of conventional cars (it is still very and very expensive to build compact hydrogen fuel cells). Currently, a lot of car manufacturers have already presented the models powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Among them are Jeep Treo-Fuel Cell, Mercedes F-CELL, Fiat Phyllis, GM Sequel, Honda FCX Clarity, Peugeot Quark and others.

Hydrogen Alternative Energy / In Conclusion

To sum up the story on hydrogen energy, it is worthy to summarize the benefits and drawbacks of this alternative source of energy. So, the obvious advantages of hydrogen are its environmentally favorable profile and availability of multiple sources to produce hydrogen, such as water, methane, gasoline or coal.

On the other hand, the most significant drawback of hydrogen energy is its high cost in comparison with traditional sources of energy. Hopefully, future innovations in technology and chemistry will help humans solve this dilemma and make hydrogen energy not only environmentally friendly, but also a cost-effective source of energy.

Hydrogen Alternative Energy / Sources

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/IntermediateHydrogen.html
http://www.hydrogenenergycenter.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=108367&module_id=8616
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen#Natural_occurrence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_vehicle

For more information on the alternative energy follow these links:

History of Alternative Energy

Alternative Forms of Energy

Alternative Energy Incentives

Alternative Energy Vehicles

Alternative Energy Companies

Importance of Alternative Energy

Disadvantages of Alternative Energy

Alternative Energy Australia

Alternative Energy for Kids