I didn't realise that oil production required hydrogen and that to exploit the harder-to-extract wells would need even more. So this may be worth considering: "Apply the basic Law of Supply and Demand, add a dash of conspiratorial thinking, and the popular imagination can easily conclude that rapidly expanding the pure hydrogen-fueled proportion of the domestic car fleet would drive up the price of hydrogen. That would mean hydrogen making equipment and feedstock getting diverted to a non-refining market, reducing the variable margin projections for refiners who are planning expansions. Hence, the imagined need to downplay the hydrogen economy talk 'before it gets out of hand'. "
So, is it really true that hydrogen isn't viable?
Why use it to produce oil, why not use it directly?
Check out the article.
Treehugger: Hydrogen Wars: Episode II:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
I've been watching the TV series 'Foundation'. I read the books about 50 years ago (I know!) but scarcely now remember anything...
-
from: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/online/2012/5/22/1337672561216/Annular-solar-eclipse--008.jpg -
I've just had an article published on emergingchurch.info. It's an adaptation of some of my book, but I thought I'd share it and...
4 comments:
Hydrogen is difficult to store, especially in vehicle applications where the fuel tanks cost tens of thousands of pounds. Liquid based fuels for transport are a much better idea.
Currently most hydrogen is made from crude oil. If hydrogen use is going to go up, guess where it will come from? No, not wind power or solar! Oh dear!
Naturally the sensible option is to run vehicles from the original liquid fuel rather than from an expensively derived hydrogen gas fuel. Better still, not use fossil fuels at all and reduce our energy use.
Oil refineries are like chemistry sets, add a couple of chemicals together and heat in the presence of a catalyst to get what you want. Hydrogen is both a product of crude oil refining and an input into the refinery process.
Fair comments all. I guess that what the referenced article is really taking a pop at is the argument to plan to build nuclear electric generation to produce hydrogen to extract oil ...
I await the follow-on articles, particularly taking the hint about storage developments [C64?].
Post a Comment