Questions on science, renewable/green energy and vehicles?
Question by guarf1: Questions on science, renewable/green energy and vehicles?
If the cheapest and easiest way to get hydrogen is from natural gas, and natural gas is non renewable, how are hydrogen cars good for the environment?
I read that the other ways to produce hydrogen are gasifying coal (which is basically burning coal), using electrolysis, and biomass (doesn’t make enough hydrogen).
Does electrolysis get rid of the water forever, can it be converted into water again? If it can’t, could widespread use of electrolysis to create hydrogen for cars, damage the world’s water supply.
Best answer:
Answer by Uzamaki Fan
You’ve got this all confused. There is no hydrogen in natural gas or coal. Its all carbon. And no, electrolysis doesn’t get rid of the water for ever. The atoms are just separated for combustion, but once they are in the environment again they will probably come back together eventually, so the world’s water supply won’t be damaged.
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about 1 year ago
no. because if you separate water using electrolysis you get hydrogen & oxygen. when you burn the hydrogen it combines with oxygen to create water again. there are very, very, very few adverse by products.
about 1 year ago
Natural gas is currently much more plentiful than petroleum. It’s already piped throughout the civilized world. The hydrogen from coal gasification comes from the water used in the process. The car itself emits practically no pollutants.
If you are using a ‘green’ or renewable energy source (photovoltaic, fission, wind etc.) to electrolyze water, you are simply converting that electric energy into the chemical energy of the broken HO bonds of the water. That’s mainly a way of making the energy transportable to a vehicle. Time will tell whether that’s more efficient or practical than simply making an electric car, especially one roofed with photovoltaic cells.
You recover the chemical energy from the hydrogen by combustion (often via a fuel cell). The energy is released as the hydrogen recombines with oxygen to form water. Thus, no net change to earth’s water supply.