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  • Producing Hydrogen Methods

Producing Hydrogen Methods

Hydrogen production

The way to produce hydrogen is related to the energy of the country and the needs of people's livelihood. There are three methods, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and will be described in detail.

One is the fossil fuel reforming method. This is the current method of hydrogen production. Take natural gas as an example, under the action of high temperature and catalyst, it reforms with water vapor. The reaction formula is: $CH_4 + H_2O\ stackrel {catalyst, high temperature }{=\!=\!=} CO + 3H_2 $. During this process, methane in natural gas reacts with water vapor to generate carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Subsequently, carbon monoxide is transformed into a reaction: $CO + H_2O\ stackrel {catalyst }{=\!=\! =} CO_2 + H_2 $to further obtain hydrogen. The advantage of this method is that the technology is mature, the cost is relatively low, and it can rely on the existing fossil energy infrastructure. However, its drawbacks are also obvious, it will produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is not conducive to environmental protection, and the fossil energy reserves are limited, which is not a long-term solution.

The second is the water electrolysis method. This is the process of converting electrical energy into chemical energy. In an electrolyzer, water is decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen under the action of direct current. The reaction formula is: $2H_2O\ stackrel {energized }{=\!=\!=} 2H_2 ↑ + O_2 ↑ $. The hydrogen produced by this method is extremely pure and pollution-free. If the electricity comes from renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power generation, green hydrogen production can be realized. However, its energy consumption is large, the demand for electricity is high, and the cost remains high, limiting its large-scale application.

The third is the biological hydrogen production method. In nature, some microorganisms such as photosynthetic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria can produce hydrogen under specific conditions. Photosynthetic bacteria use organic matter as a substrate for photosynthesis to produce hydrogen under light conditions; anaerobic bacteria produce hydrogen by fermenting organic matter such as sugars in an anaerobic environment. This method has the advantages of environmental friendliness and wide sources of raw materials, and can utilize agricultural waste and industrial wastewater. However, biological hydrogen production technology is still in the development stage, with low hydrogen production efficiency and poor strain stability. There are still many problems to be solved from large-scale industrial application.

To sum up, hydrogen production methods have their own advantages. It is necessary to comprehensively consider factors such as energy structure, environmental requirements and economic costs to develop more efficient and green hydrogen production technologies to meet future energy needs.