Hydrogen : Something Interest

The word of hydrogen is from the Greek word hydro (water), and genes (forming). Hydrogen was recognized as a distinct substance by Henry Cavendish in 1776.  Hydrogen is the most abundant of all elements in the universe. The heavier elements in the periodic tables were originally made from hydrogen atoms or from other elements that were originally made from hydrogen atoms. Hydrogen is available in almost every corner of the universe, amounting to nearly 90% of all the atoms. It is found in the star. Through fusion processes hydrogen are combined to form helium, and in the process release massive amounts of energy

Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. In normal conditions it’s a colorless, odorless and insipid gas, formed by diatomic molecules, H2. The hydrogen atom, symbol H is formed by a nucleus with one unit of positive charge and one electron. It’s one of the main compounds of water and of all organic matter, and it’s widely spread not only in Earth but also in the entire universe. At normal temperature hydrogen is a not very reactive substance, unless it has been activated somehow; for instance, by an appropriate catalyser. At high temperatures it’s highly reactive.

  

Hydrogen has the following properties:

Properties	Value
Atomic number	1
Atomic mass	1.007825 g.mol -1
Electronegativity according to Pauling	2.1
Density	0.0899*10 -3 g.cm -3 at 20 °C
Melting point	- 259.2 °C
Boiling point	- 252.8 °C
Vanderwaals radius	0.12 nm
Ionic radius	0.208 (-1) nm
Isotopes	3
Electronic shell	1s1
Energy of first ionisation	1311 kJ.mol -1
Discovered by	Henry Cavendish in 1766*

Table 1 Properties of Hydrogen

Hydrogen Uses:

There have been numerous cases of hydrogen application. Hydrogen often called the energy source of the future as it can be easily found in overabundance in the entire universe. It has been widely used in the following industries: Petrochemical, Transportation, Metal, Aerospace and weapon.

In the area of transportation, it is often used to propel everything from land speed record-breaking vehicles, as fuel cell to power passenger cars, buses and forklifts. In a lot of countries it is also used to power a lot of vehicles as a mean of alternative energy source. In a fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are converted into electricity through an electrochemical process, and the only waste is water. As hydrogen and oxygen are available easily in the natural environment, they can be fed continuously thus producing a continuous supply of electricity. This process is clean and environmental friendly. The electricity generated can then be used to proper motor and stored in battery if needed.

This extreme energy from hydrogen is used to fuel rockets and power life-support systems and computers in space environment. The fuel is used in the form of liquid hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH₂) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen is also used to power non-nuclear based submarines like Type 212 submarine, Type 214 submarine. Also concept hydrogen vehicles have been built using this form of hydrogen. [2] In Europe, there have been many applications of hydrogen in the transportation such as: Clean Energy Partnership  (CEP); and London Hydrogen Partnership (LHP).

Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) is one of the largest and most innovative hydrogen projects in Europe. It is intended to show that running on hydrogen and building a hydrogen infrastructure will be trouble-free. Various energy companies such as Linde, Shell, Statoil, Total and Vattenfall are participating in the project, as well as car manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler Benz, Ford, Opel, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles are already a reality, and mass scale production to achieve economic of scale are in the planning of almost every major car manufacturer. [5]Toyota already announced plan to launch hydrogen car in 2015. Cities like London and California have prepared for this future vehicle by launching hydrogen-based projects and passing bills to fund hydrogen stations for massive scale of use.

Hydrogen is used widely in petrochemical industries. Hydrogen is essential in today’s refining industry for upgrading heavy crude oils into refined fuels, and helping to meet increasingly tight transportation fuel specifications. The petroleum and chemical industries use a massive amount of H2 hydrogen in the refinery processes. The number one application of H2 is the processing of crude oils, and in the production of ammonia. For petrochemical plants, the key consumers are hydrodealkylation, hydrodesulfurization, and hydrocracking. H2 is used as a hydrogenating agent, particularly in increasing the level of saturation of unsaturated fats and oils (found in items such as margarine). It is also used in the manufacture of hydrochloric acid and methanol and as a reducing agent of metallic ores.

In welding and metal fabrication industries, it is also used to enhance plasma welding and cutting operations, hydrogen gas is commonly mixed with argon for welding stainless steel. It is also used in metal sintering and annealing. Metal sintering is a method for creating objects from powders, including metal and ceramic powders. It is based on atomic diffusion.

Why hydrogen was preferred?

LZ-129 Hindenburg airship was built by Zepplin Company in the late 1920s for transatlantic passenger transportation purpose. It was originally designed to be lifted by helium. As helium’s inert non-flammable nature makes it very practical to be used in lighter-than-air (LTA) flight. But helium being relatively rare and heavier than hydrogen, it was not as economical as hydrogen for mass transportation purpose due to fewer payload than it can carry. In comparison, hydrogen can carry extra 50% of useful payload then helium. For that reason, hydrogen was ultimately being used. Additional lifting capacity allows more passenger cabins to be added and more postal mails able to be carried.