Hydrogen Enthusiasm

An article in the Monday WSJ tells of an interest in the production of hydrogen by fossil fuel entities in the US gulf coast area who are in a good position to use one of the most developed methods, steam-gas reforming. This process uses natural gas as both a heat source and feed stock to separate hydrogen from natural gas with the consequent by-product of CO2, supposedly the big problem in climate change. Other techniques continue to be explored.

Exxon Mobil seems to be covering all the bases by both getting into hydrogen production and expanding their capabilities in fossil fuel, having recently purchased Pioneer Natural Resources and its assets in a $60 billion deal. Competitor Chevron then made a similar move, acquiring Hess. These companies propose to capture the CO2 and sequester it deep in the earth, perhaps for many centuries. They will continue to produce and market petroleum products.

The WSJ article points out that there's a belief that the US has an advantage over other countries which have gotten into solar and wind power more quickly in that the US already has a significant infrastructure advantage and processing capability in hydrogen, a competitive advantage in the world-wide fight against boiling seas. They're probably hoping that other governments will buy their product or processes rather than continue to destroy the atmosphere.

The economics of the hydrogen revolution remain unclear. According to stackexchange.com:

 "Combustion is a gaseous phase phenomenon. Oil and gasoline have a high enough vapor pressure at ambient temperatures to produce a gaseous phase of fuel above the liquid. In contrast, hold a lighter up to a piece of wood and try to get it to light. It won't—at least not for quite some time. This is because solid fuels must first undergo endothermic pyrolysis before real combustion can occur. This produces a slew of products which are what truly undergo combustion when solids are burned. Because combustion is exothermic, once a high enough temperature is reached the solid will autopyrolyze, making combustion a self-sustaining reaction."

This means that in general hydrocarbons are in a gaseous state during the combustion process, as is the oxygen with which they combine. Ordinarily both gases are only slightly above atmospheric pressure when combustion takes place. Unless some other process is used, a cubic foot of hydrogen at atmospheric pressure produces about one third the BTU of a similar volume and pressure of natural gas. Combustion of natural gas is likely to be much more energy efficient and economical than hydrogen, even if some CO2 is a by-product.

The moves made by oil producers are meant to protect their position in US and world industry regardless of the politics involved.