Hydrogen

A brief outlook of past, present, and future manufacturing techniques for a sustainable world.

Just as any student studying science can point out to you, hydrogen is the first element of the periodic table and the basic building block for the rest of the elements. Due to its abundance around the universe, there have been recent developments within the industry towards considering the use of hydrogen for a sustainable future.

The usefulness of Hydrogen?

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, there are many uses for hydrogen gas within the chemical industry. There has also been an increasing development towards turning hydrogen gas into an alternative fuel source.

Hydrogen gas is highly reactive and flammable due to it having a low molecular weight, allowing it disperse and oxidise. However, if the risks are mitigated, the benefits of using hydrogen as a fuel will provide greater benefits to the world environmentally and economically in comparison to fuels such as petroleum.

Current manufacturing methods

The first method recorded in producing hydrogen on a small scale was using steam and an iron tube. This method is no longer used and has been replaced by:

Steam methane reforming
Hydrocarbon gasification
Water electrolysis

The first two methods use non-renewable materials for producing hydrogen which are unsustainable. Although, there is potential to find a more renewable source of methane gas from the recent developments through using the circular economy to create a carbon-neutral output. This newly developed technology provides a path forward for a sustainable future.

A sustainable future is being encouraged in Australia. This is evident by the Asia Pacific Hydrogen 2023 Summit held in Australia by the Sustainable Energy Council and Australian Hydrogen Council. Many groups have come forward with methods to produce green hydrogen to push for the carbon neutrality future outcome set by the Federal Government.

References

EIA. (2023, June 23). Hydrogen Explained – Production of Hydrogen. Retrieved from U.S. Energy Information Administration: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/hydrogen/production-of-hydrogen.php

Grochala, W. (2015, Feburary 20). First there was hydrogen. In Your Element(7), 264. doi:10.1038/nchem.2186

PubChem. (2024). Hydorgen. Retrieved from PubChem: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Hydrogen

RSC. (2024). Hydrogen. Retrieved from Royal Society of Chemistry: https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/1/hydrogen