I’ve heard about “hydrothermal vents” deep under the sea that supposedly provide hydrogen, and bacteria can use that hydrogen as an energy source to feed on. But i’ve always been too lazy to read up on it. Not anymore!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-oxidizing_bacteria
This article mentions:
Occurring at ambient temperature, serpentinization is an exothermic geochemical mechanism that takes place when ultramafic rocks from deep in the Earth rise and encounter water. This process can produce large quantities of H2, as well as methane and organic substances.
This means, you have to imagine that there’s liquid (non-oxidated!!) metal inside the Earth’s core. Due to volcanic processes (and plate tectonics), it sometimes rises and comes into contact with the water from the ocean. Now, you have:
2 Fe + 3 H2O --> Fe2O3 + 3 H2
In this process 3 molecules of hydrogen were created. Or that’s the gist of it, if i understood correctly.
The key insight is that raw, non-oxidated metal from the Earth’s interior is the reduction agent, and water is the substrate! Water gets split into oxygen and hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen gets reduced by the metal, and then gets released as a gas into the ocean -> atmosphere.
Harvesting tiny bubbles from vast areas of ocean ground in wavy cold waters is not what looks very attractive or sustainable to me.
Also: Fuck green hydrogen, at least at bigger amounts. Hydrogen is a beast to store and to transport and should only be used for local use in some industries (steel, chemical) and maybe for short term energy storage when renewables are overproducing. Maybe. Never seen an economically sustainable project because batteries are superior in that area. Fuck green hydrogen.
Wait…was i wrong? I thought hydrogen was one of the better alternatives to head and oil. Yeah batteries are nice, but the weight is still a problem right? especially in like planes, giant ships etc
More weight less range more batteries more weight etc Energy density of hydrogen is up there, and especially if the safe storage thing ever gets solved, i was sure that would be a given
I seem to remember the only ’ waste’ it produces when combusted is water. Granted i would not trust to use it in a car… But a ship miles away from any danger of collision m? Also if it’s ‘free’ bubbling from the ocean ground, what’s the downside? giant cargo ships are ideal for hydrogen, no?
im imagining have one big floating platform, like those oil rigs at sea, with some kind of contraption with a pipe all the way to the bottom of the sea. Basically a gas station in the middle of the sea. Cheaper going m shipping
But your telling me it’s not that easy?😭
Storing hydrogen is really hard, which results in heavy storage equipment. It’s also very explosive.
When you weigh (literally) up the storage requirements for hydrogen versus electricity (batteries), electricity wins, especially as it can be generated any which way you like.
Handling hydrogen within the bounds of a powerplant is feasible, not in end usage scenarios like vehicles.
What @[email protected] says: Hydrogen is a scam by the fossile fuel bros. They need combustion engines to sell their products. That’s the complete reasoning, that’s all there is. And also be aware: Hydrogen is not feasible without bigger subsidiaries paid for by the common men directly into the pockets of billionaires.
Technical and financial aspect: Storage and transport of hydrogen kill the feasibility. End of story.
Hydrogen is a scam: they use the promise of ‘eventual’ hydrogen made from electrolysis of sustainable energy as an excuse to implement hydrogen made from cracking natural gas now, which only really serves to divert funding that could’ve gone to actual green projects back to the fossil fuel industry.