• Zachary Tigert, Courtney Flowers, Emily Casey, Moriah Balingit, Jessica Bryan, Rob Wyman

• The American petroleum industry began with the discovery of oil in 1859 in Pennsylvania.– While it was known that oil existed off of the eastern

seaboard in 1775, the first oil drill operation began in 1859. Oil was struck 69 feet below the surface.

– Today, the U.S. investment in the oil industry stands at half a trillion dollars in wells, refineries and distribution systems. The industry employs 1.5 million people directly and 6 million indirectly.

– Sources: “The Petroleum Industry Today.” http://www.midwestnpioneer.org/central/conoco.html and – http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/rc_066100_oilindustry.htm. Houghton Mifflin, college division.

Oil Pipelines• Currently, there exists

roughly 95,000 miles of crude oil pipelines that connect the major U.S. markets.

– However, these existing lines cannot be used to transport hydrogen because of diffusion losses, brittleness of materials and compressor incompatibilities. Also, hydrogen lines must be larger than the current 8-24 inch diameter lines.

– Major lines cost roughly 5 million a mile.

• As of 1998, there were 187,097 retail stations selling motor fuel in the U.S.– The U.S. population in 1998 was roughly 270 million which

averages to one gas station per 1,443 people.– A medium sized filling station sells roughly 26 metric tons of

gasoline a day. Currently, this fuel can be supplied by one truck. However, it would take 22 tube-trailer hydrogen trucks or 3 liquid hydrogen trucks to deliver the same amount of energy.

– The transfer of the hydrogen from these trucks to underground storage tanks would also take much longer than draining gas from one truck.

– Likely, storage tanks will need to be unearthed and retrofitted to store hydrogen, not gas.

• Myth: Hydrogen is an abundantly available fuel.

• Fact: Sure, hydrogen is the most common element in the universe. But hydrogen molecules are bound up in other molecules and we have to expend energy to get them out of other stuff.

• Now– Hydrogen is a feedstock

for chemical production – Steam reforming from

natural gas (48%) and Oil (30%)

– Electrolysis (4%)– Coal Gasification (18%)

• Possibilities for the future– “Clean” Coal and Natural

Gas– Renewable Electrolysis– Thermo-chemical

• Currently the cheapest and most efficient way to produce hydrogen

• Steam and methane are mixed in a reactor at high temperatures (700 C – 1100 C) in the presence of a metal catalyst to create hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide

• The United States produces about 9 megatons of hydrogen a year this way

Problems with Natural Gas• Problems:

– Doesn’t eliminate reliance on natural gas

– Doesn’t reduce hydrocarbon emissions

– Requires energy to heat water and methane

– Price dependent on cost of natural gas

• How it works– Gaseous coal is mixed with

oxygen and steam under really really really high pressures and temperatures to produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas

• Problems– It produces harmful emissions:

carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur

– Coal mining bad for landscape– It costs twice as much as

natural gas

• How it works– An electric current is

run through water and it separates into its negatively charged (hydrogen) molecules and its positively charged (oxygen) molecules

– Efficiency=38.4 kwh/kg of hydrogen

Problems with Electrolysis

• If the electricity going into the process is produced by a coal-fired plant it would take 140.8 kwh of energy to produce one kilogram of hydrogen

• Considering a fuel cell produces about 23.3 kwh/kg hydrogen, it’s not a lot of bang for your buck…and it’s a heck of a lot more expensive than steam reforming

• It requires pure water• Conclusion: Put the electricity back

into the grid or right into the car

• Advocates say renewable energy sources could be used to produce the electricity necessary for electrolysis

• Problems

– It would take 3.75 trillion kwh of electricity to perform electrolysis to deliver hydrogen to a hydrogen-fueled U.S. car fleet

– Examining current renewable energy capabilities…

(https://blackboard.uoregon.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_203859_1)

-…it’s just not realistic

-plus, you could just put that energy back into the grid

“Clean” Coal and Natural Gas Reforming

• Same technology for gasification

• Eliminates emissions through carbon sequestration

• Problems

– Only economical for large scale plants

– Would add about $0.30 - $0.50 per kg hydrogen to sequester hydrogen

– Technology still far from being developed

– Technology hasn’t addressed other emissions

Thermo-chemical

• Water is heated to extremely high temperature (800-1000 C) and combined with other elements to create dissociation

• Greater efficiency than electrolysis

• Problems

– Requires a high energy input to heat the water to that temperature

– Requires nuclear energy if its to be cost effective

Myth: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pumping hydrogen into his new “hydrogen

Hummer.”Fact: There’s nothing in that hose. And the car

doesn’t even belong to him.

• Past 50 years- cost of pressurized hydrogen (a cylinder of about .6kg H2) is ~$100/kg H2 plus a cylinder rental fee

• For Hydrogen economy, we must achieve a cost that of only a few $/kg

• This is not feasible at all in terms of cost for energy production because of the efficiency issues of producing hydrogen, and it is not feasible for transportation usage because of infrastructure costs

• The intro.rate of H2 based vehicles is nearly 1/100th of what was expected

• The price of natural gas has increased by a factor of 10 in the last 30 yrs. and 3 in the last 6 (2004) and is likely to increase by more than another factor of 2 in the next 15 yrs.

• Small H2 dispensing stations cost about $600,000- 10x more than originally expected

• H2 storage costs in amounts less than tens of thousands of kgs. are 100x greater than for fossil fuels and biofuels

NG-H2 Prices

Fueling the H2 car

• H2 is not an economically feasible alternative to gasoline with projections of several dollars per kilogram

• Diesel and biodiesel are more promising as transportation alternatives- they could be as low as $.5/kg and $.6/kg respectively

• Best Case Scenario:Best Case Scenario:

– Starts Production 2010Starts Production 2010

• The problem:The problem:

– 500,000,000500,000,000 gas powered gas powered vehicles in the US vehicles in the US

• Energy-intensive

–3.8 times more energy than NG

• Hydrogen loss over distance

–.77% per 100km

(that’s ~62 miles for those of you who can’t think in the metric system)

• Expense of Producing Hydrogen

• The Finite Resource of Water

• Alternatives

• Political Factors

• Rare Platinum as a Catalyst in the Fuel Cells

• Storage of Hydrogen

–As a gas: the inefficiencies

• Fresh Water Needed

• Earth’s water supply

– We need to save some clean water for us!

– 96% of Earth’s water is in oceans and saline

– 99.7% of all the water on Earth is not available for human and animal consumption

• Biofuels: ethanol, waste, biodiesel

• Electricity (it has worked thus far…why not in the future?)

• ElectricityHydrogen Electricity

–That seems inefficient

Hydrogen Timeline

• Presidents Hydrogen Initiative warns that Hydrogen is not panacea

• “Over-sold” to the public• Unrealistic expectations about timeframe• Transition periods of “several decades”• Careful coordination of dev takes time• Early commitment to hydrogen fuel unwise

risks technological lock-in

Alternatives:

• Major report recommends develop diverse portfolio

• Electric Vehicles / Plug-in Hybrids

• Biofuels (Cellulosic ethanol)

• Biodiesel / Synthetic diesel

• Direct application of electricity derived from renewable energy sources

The Politics of Hydrogen

• Too much Lip service, not enough money $$$• 1.2 billion to hydrogen, also 1.5 billion to

“healthy marriages”• Monthly tab Iraq 3.9 billion• 2004 Department of energy spent more

nuclear and fossil fuel• FreedomCAR program required to create

hydrogen powered car, not sell one

Investment Willingness: Catch 22

• Financial risks involved in dev of H2 technology are significant.

• Oil companies not will to invest if only handful hydrogen cars.

• Automakers not willing to make hydrogen cars if nowhere fill them.

• Retrofitting just 25% refueling stations more than $13 billion.

• The Bush FactorThe Bush Factor

• Unfeasibility of transforming the Unfeasibility of transforming the world, or even the United States in world, or even the United States in just thirty yearsjust thirty years

• We are dependant on foreign oil We are dependant on foreign oil (duh!) from countries who do not “like” (duh!) from countries who do not “like” us. Hydrogen will not be the solutionus. Hydrogen will not be the solution