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There are various methods for generating hydrogen, including electrolysis, solid oxide fuel cells, biological processes, and using electricity from solar cells. These methods vary depending on the source material and intended use. New developments include using molybdenum instead of platinum and using algae for hydrogen generation. Costs for hydrogen generation are becoming more competitive with traditional fuel sources.
The different methods for generating hydrogen are numerous, depending on the source material, whether the final product is to be pure hydrogen or some sort of hydrogen compound, and what the intended uses are. Producing hydrogen for rockets or compressed liquid fuel cell cars can be accomplished by the relatively simple and well-known process of electrolysis, which splits water into charged oxygen and hydrogen atoms by running an electric current through it. Other forms of hydrogen generation with a water-based medium include ammonia borane hydrolysis and modified thermochemical thermolysis, in which iodine sulfur is introduced to produce hydrogen in a nuclear reactor and the iodine sulfur compound is subsequently retained for a further use.
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that produce electricity are another alternative energy option that uses and produces compounds of hydrogen in the process, without requiring liquid water. They work like a battery, except that their input can be natural gas and produce carbon dioxide and electricity. There are many variations on solid fuel cells, most of which involve the use of high temperatures and some sort of expensive heavy metal like platinum. A new form of hydrogen fuel cell uses water and replaces platinum with a much less expensive molybdenum metal compound, and is 70 times cheaper than using platinum while still being able to run on water. sea.
Much slower methods of generating bulk hydrogen include using biological processes such as fermentation and dark fermentation, which do not require the presence of light to function. Microbial reactions, called electrohydrogenesis, can generate hydrogen from wastewater. The use of plants such as algae for hydrogen generation is also being developed. In 2005, algae researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States plan their hydrogen generation project will reduce the cost to $2.80 US dollars (USD) per kilogram, making it competitive with gasoline.
Another new method of generating hydrogen is to use electricity from solar cells. Concentrating solar cells channel electrical energy into a solid oxide that operates at a high temperature, exceeding 2,012° Fahrenheit (1,100° Celsius). The expectation is that 50% of solar energy will be converted into an equivalent amount of hydrogen energy. This is being researched for hydrogen generation as costs could be as low as $0.85 US Dollars (USD) per watt, which is comparable to the efficiency of wind power systems. Hydrogen generation can be done by many low-cost, low-tech or high-cost, high-tech means, with current research making it a practical energy alternative today, not in the distant future.
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