Hydrogen Fuel Advantages and Disadvantages: Hydrogen fuel is not a natural fuel, it is produced by the chemical reaction of hydrogen with oxygen without involving carbon and generates energy. Hydrogen is generally observed as an energy carrier like electricity, but it must be produced by some source and not found in natural form. Usually, it is used in internal combustion energy as a fuel such as in passenger cars. Hydrogen fuel is zero-carbon fuel and thus can be used in different sectors, like ports, heavy-duty trucks, industrial processes, etc.
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What is Hydrogen Fuel? Hydrogen Fuel Advantages and Disadvantages 2022
Hydrogen generates energy by the chemical reaction of hydrogen with oxygen and does not have carbon involved. Thus Hydrogen fuel is a zero-carbon or clean fuel burned with oxygen to produce energy like electricity. Hydrogen is not naturally found in nature; it must be produced since hydrogen is a simple element that consists of only one proton and one electron. Hydrogen can only become an energy carrier but hydrogen cannot generate nor store the energy but it can deliver the energy.
The biggest advantage of producing hydrogen fuel is nature-friendly means it does not involve carbon for producing energy. Hydrogen can be used in various sectors like industrial processes, heavy-duty vehicles, ports, transportation, etc. Hydrogen is used for refining petroleum and ammonium production. At present hydrogen fuel can be produced through many ways or methods such as by natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable energy like wind, solar.
- Hydrogen Fuel Advantages
- Hydrogen Fuel Disadvantages
- Comparison Table on Pros and Cons of Hydrogen Fuel
- FAQs on Hydrogen Fuel Advantages and Disadvantages
Usually, hydrogen fuel is produced by the following methods. Let us have a look at the processes;
Thermal process: Thermal process is a system in which at a high temperature the steam reacts with hydrocarbon fuel to produce hydrogen. Natural gas, diesel, gasified coals, renewable liquid fuels are used to produce hydrogen through thermal processes. Thus steam reformation processes are the most used method to produce hydrogen out of natural gas.
Solar-driven processes: solar-driven processes include photobiological systems; semiconductor systems; photobiological systems and hybrid and other systems. This process uses light for hydrogen production. All the solar-driven systems use solar energy as an agent and the best part is solar energy is a renewable resource that is abundant in nature and gives the most sustainable energy. The solar-driven process is mainly the method of combining photovoltaic cells with water electrolytes to produce hydrogen. It works on a water-splitting reaction with other metals from solar energy to produce hydrogen.
Electrolytic process: The process done in an electrolyzer, for separating water into hydrogen and oxygen is called the electrolytic process. This is a carbon-free hydrogen production process from nuclear and renewable resources.
Biological processes: Biological processes use microbes to break down organic matter like biomass or wastewater to produce hydrogen. The biological production of hydrogen is one of the best alternative methods where hydrogen is the by-product of microorganisms like algae, bacteria, that has the potential production of usable hydrogen from various renewable resources.
Hydrogen fuel is a zero-carbon ‘energy carrier’ that produces only water, electricity, and heat is used in fuel cells. It can be used in cars, in houses, for portable power, and also for rocket fuel.
There are many applications of hydrogen fuel and also some drawbacks, let us have an overview of its advantage and disadvantages;
Hydrogen Fuel Advantages
Hydrogen fuel is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen by going through an electrochemical process that produces electrical energy and water as by-products. There is much beneficial use of hydrogen fuel some of them are
Clean and zero emissions: While producing hydrogen from electrochemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen there is no carbon emission involved thus hydrogen fuel is the cleanest and nontoxic. It does not generate greenhouse gasses, whereas other sources like natural gas, coal, nuclear power are toxic and hard to produce.
productive and powerful than fossil fuel: Hydrogen fuel is very powerful than other fuels and it provides a high-density source of energy that is more energy-efficient than other fossil fuels.
Fastest charging: hydrogen fuel cell power units are charged very faster. Like electric vehicles get charged in 30 min to a few hours but hydrogen fuel cells can get charged in 5 to 10 minutes.
Abundant and inexhaustible: Hydrogen is a simple element and abundant in nature. It is an inexhaustible source of energy. As the future needs for fuel are increasing hydrogen can be the best solution to fulfill the requirement.
No noise pollution: like other sources, hydrogen fuel does not create noise pollution such as electric vehicles are more silent than other internal combustion engines.
More efficient than other energy sources: Hydrogen fuel cells uses less fuel and produce more energy. The other conventional combustion engine uses more fuel and produces less energy, thus hydrogen fuel reduces approx 40-50 percent more fuel than others.
Can be used in various sectors: As the nation is dependent on fossil fuel, hydrogen fuel cells are the best alternative to get renewable energy and can reduce the use of fossil fuel which helps the other countries also to power the economy. This fuel is versatile and can be used in different sectors like mobile applications, vehicles, ports, etc.
With all the above benefits there are some disadvantages of using hydrogen fuels
Hydrogen Fuel Disadvantages
Some of the disadvantages of hydrogen fuel are:
Production of hydrogen fuel: There are many ways to produce hydrogen fuel because it is not free in nature thus it needs to be extracted from water by electrolysis or needs to be separated from fossil fuel which requires a certain amount of energy to be maintained.
High cost: The cost of extraction of hydrogen and the raw material cost make it more expensive.
Flammable: we have maintained safety measures while working with hydrogen as it is highly flammable.
Storage and transportation: For the storage of hydrogen, hydrogen fuel cells costs are considered as it is more difficult to store and transport than fossil fuel. Fossil fuels infrastructure is already made for hydrogen fuel; it is yet to be developed so it becomes costlier.
Regulatory issues: Regulatory issues in concern to deployment models can sometimes become a struggle to understand theory cost and revenue basics.
Comparison Table on Pros and Cons of Hydrogen Fuel
| PROs | CONs |
| Clean power source | Not free in nature must be extracted |
| Abundant and inexhaustible form of energy | Extraction cost may be high |
| No noise pollution | Highly flammable in nature |
| More efficient than another source of energy | Regulatory issues must be considered |
| Versatile fuel can be used in various sectors | Storage and transportation can be an issue |
| Long-range | Maybe not eco-friendly |
FAQs on Hydrogen Fuel Advantages and Disadvantages
Question 1.
What is Hydrogen fuel? How is it useful?
Answer:
Hydrogen fuel is not a natural fuel, it is produced by the chemical reaction of hydrogen with oxygen without involving carbon and generates energy. Hydrogen is generally observed as an energy carrier like electricity, but it must be produced by some source and not found in natural form.
It is used in ICE as a fuel such as in passenger cars. Hydrogen fuel is zero-carbon fuel and thus can be used in different sectors, like ports, heavy-duty trucks, industrial processes, etc.
Question 2.
How hydrogen fuel can become the future needed fuel?
Answer:
Hydrogen fuel is abundant and inexhaustible, and also a means of clean power source. Thus all these benefits are the basic requirement of the future and this hydrogen fuel can easily fulfill it.
Question 3.
what are the drawbacks of using hydrogen fuel?
Answer:
Hydrogen fuel extraction can be a costlier process than other fossil fuels, Hydrogen fuel is not a natural fuel thus energy is used to produce the fuel. Storage and transportation can also be a problem in dealing with hydrogen fuel.