Hydrogen from coal

摘要

Even if you do not work in the energy field, it is likely that you will have heard of the "Hydrogen Economy", and if you have not, you soon will have. Put simply, a hydrogen economy is a world where the use of hydrogen is the accepted means of storing and transporting energy. There are three main drivers for a shift from our current hydrocarbon dominated economies to a hydrogen economy: Increased energy security; Reduced CO_2 emissions from both the electricity generation and transport sectors; Improved urban air quality. The first (and arguably the most profound of these three) relates to the recognised depletion of conventional oil and gas reserves. Although still debated by some, most geologists and petroleum engineers concede that half of the world's conventionally recoverable oil will have been used within the next 10 years. That same mark for gas will be reached soon after. Reaching this halfway mark will have a huge economic impact on the world and thus a search has begun to find a replacement for oil, especially as transport fuel. The U.S. Government has invested over 2 billion dollars in research and the energy industry is investing perhaps ten times that amount.