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Analysing Hydrogen and Biomass as alternative to fossil fuel

Joao Mendes (John) | UEEC 10 Institute of Languages UNSW

-The problems of burning fossil fuels -Biofuels -Hydrogen energy -Future directions -Discussion
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Bayswater Power Station

One of the Australians largest coal power station

Coal Consumption
Approximately 7.5 million tonnes per year

19.4 million tonnes of CO2

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Global warming
C 4 22 C2 2 H 2O

Figure 1: Increasing emissions of CO2 and Earths surface temperature. Souce: IPCC1
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Where does CO2 come from?

Figure 2: Emissions of greenhouse gases by source . Source: IPCC1

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Global warming
Higher temperatures
Less ice (less radiation reflection)

Rise of sea level Climate change

Extreme weather conditions more frequent

(drought, floods, typhoons)

Agriculture problems
Figure 3: Changes in temperature, sea level and northern hem. snow cover. Source: IPCC4
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Unsustainable
Acid Rain Non-renewable

Ocean acidification

Damage ocean live in global Mining impact Unsustainable scale

Air pollution

Oil spills Respiratory diseases

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Biofuels
Use of biological material to produce energy

Figure 4: Biofuel, new technology?*

*http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/environmental%20impact%20study_117919 8

Biofuels
Carbon neutrality

Figure 5: Carbon cycle of biofuels (Naik et al. 2010)

1st Generation of biofuels

Use of well-known agricultural products;
Vegetable oils (triglycerides) can be transesterified into biodiesel; Carbohydrates (sugars) can be fermented to produce ethanol (sugar cane); Starch can be hydrolysed to produce

fermentable sugar (corn);

Figure 6: Sugar cane

Competition between fuel/food crops (food prices, food security); They feed only 1% of global transportation.
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2nd Generation of biofuels

Use of woody plant that grow

fast (e.g. Eucalyptus);

Enzymes are used to turn wood into ethanol.

Less fertilizer; It can grow in marginal land;

It helps to restore the soil;

Wasted wood can be used.
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Future and 3rd generation

Biorefinary
Chemical, biochemical and physical process to convert biomass into diverse products (ethanol, biogas, hydrogen, cellulose, oils, polymers, medicine feedstock);

3rd generation of biofuel algal biomass

Able to grow in salt water and wastewater; Easy to feed (waste gas CO2 or NO);

High efficient to produce fuel (high production of fuel per

hectare);
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Biofuel from coal

270,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be taken from Bayswater Power Station to grow algae and to produce biofuel*.

*Power

station emissions to be used to create biofuel 2013, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, viewed 14 Jan 2013 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-02/power-station13 emissions-to-be-used-to-create-biofuel/4794972>.

Hydrogen
Atomic hydrogen is the simplest chemical element, consisting of

a proton and a electron;

H2(g) is a colourless and odourless gas, responsible for 75% of the universe mass, but it does not naturally occur on Earth; Hydrogen gas easily react with oxygen gas producing water and a huge amount of energy.

2 2( g ) 2( g ) 2H2O(l )
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The ideal fuel

Clean, H2 produces neither greenhouse gases nor pollutants, it only produces water when burned.

Renewable, H2(g) can be extracted from water, producing water

again when burned.

2 2( g ) 2( g ) 2H2O(l )
NASA has used H2 to power rockets since 1970. Other applications

Production of ammonia (Haber process) and methanol;

Petroleum refinement.
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Challenges - Production of H2

Future Today
Figure 7: Hydrogen production and utilization (Momirlan & Veziroglu 2010)

Storage of wind and solar energy

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Challenges - Production of H2

Production efficiency and cost should be improved - Produce more for less
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Challenges Storage

Storage and transportation of hydrogen can be dangerous Need to improve technologies to store H2
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Challenges Infrastructure

Need to build a whole new infrastructure to distribute, store and use.

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Hydrogen Economy and Future

The central role of hydrogen

Figure 8: Hydrogen economy (Momirlan & Veziroglu 2010)

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Hydrogen Economy and Future

TOYOTA FCHV-adv*
Successful startup: -30 Celsius Extended cruising range: 830km without refuelling

*Fuel Cell Technology, Toyota Global, viewed 14 Jan 2013, <http://www.toyotaglobal.com/innovation/environmental_technology/fuelcell_vehicle/>.

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Conclusion

Biofuels and hydrogen are likely to play an important role as energy sources in the future. However, research is required to develop these technologies and the total transition from a fossil fuel economy to a economy powered by renewable and clean sources of energy will take a long time.

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Questions?

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References
1 National

Energy Education Development Project, viewed 14 Jan 2013 < http://needmedia.smugmug.com/ >
2 Potters,

G, Goethem, DV & Schutte, F 2010 'Promising biofuel resources: Lignocellulose and algae', Nature Education, 3(9):14.
3 Naik,

SN, Goud, VV, Rout, PK & Dalai, AJ 2010, 'Production of first and second generation biofuels: A comprehensive review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 578-597.
4 Winter,

C 2009, 'Hydrogen energy Abundant, efficient, clean: A debate over the energy-system-of-change', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 34, no. 14, supplement 1, pp. S1-S52.
5 Momirlan,

M & Veziroglu, TN 2005, 'The properties of hydrogen as fuel tomorrow in sustainable energy system for a cleaner planet', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 795-802.
6 Dunn,

S 2002 'Hydrogen futures: toward a sustainable energy system, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 235264.

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