Hydrogen production technology for powering civil and industrial systems : a review
Partial use of alternative energy exemplified by hydrogen energy is expected to reduce negative impacts associated with the current dependence on fossil energy and bring net gain to regional and national economies. Hydrogen has emission levels that are far below the existing and possibly, future standards. Hydrogen energy may enhance energy security and perhaps allay concerns some concerns about global climatic change, environmental issues, energy efficiency, and infrastructure development. Since the production of hydrogen is energy-intensive, a production technique that negates this disadvantage with a high volume output within a reasonable time, is desirable.
Fuel cell alternative for locomotive propulsion
Abstract The electrification of railway systems as an alternative to diesel-electric locomotion is under serious consideration in Ontario and other parts of Canada. Proposals for electrification of parts of Canada's railways point out that we have abundant electricity, particularly from hydraulic and CANDU sources and suggest that wherever appropriate, we should move the transportation sector from oil to electricity. However, electricity is not the only energy currency that can be harvested from these non-fossil derived sources. The hydrogen fuel cell powered locomotive provides a means of indirect electrification and holds advantages over direct railroad electrification in several areas. This paper develops a conceptual design of an alkaline fuel cell powered locomotive system and compares its performance to diesel and electric alternatives on the basis of energy consumption and energy cost. The technical analysis of the propulsion system described in this paper is based on computer simulation software developed to model the performance of a bipolar alkaline fuel cell running on electrolytic-grade hydrogen. This is a generalized model which may be applied to any application duty cycle, given transient voltage and current duty cycles. Locomotive duty cycle requirements were defined for freight and passenger locomotives powered by both shunt and series traction motors along the Montreal to Toronto corridor. The most appropriate fuel cells for freight and passenger applications were selected subject to weight, volume, and current density constraints. The fuel cell performances were then compared with diesel and electric counterparts. This paper concludes that the fuel cell locomotive is a competitive alternative propulsion system for railway electrification and should be considered in any study exploring alternatives to diesel-fueled locomotives.
Hydrogen production and carbon dioxide recovery from KRW oxygen-blown gasification.
An oxygen-blown KRW integrated gasification combined-cycle plant producing hydrogen, electricity, and supercritical-CO{sub 2}, was studied in a full-energy cycle analysis extending from the cord mine to the final destination of the gaseous product streams. A location in the mid-western US was chosen 160-km from Old Ben No.26 mine which ships 3,866 tonnes/day of Illinois No.6 coal by diesel locomotive. Three parallel gasifier trains, each capable of providing 42% of the plant's 413.5 MW nominal capacity use a combined total of 3,488 tonnes/day of 1/4 inch prepared coal. The plant produces a net 52 MW of power and 3.71 x 10{sup 6} nm{sup 3}/day of 99.999% purity hydrogen which is sent 100 km by pipeline at 34 bars. The plant also produces 3.18 x 10{sup 6} nm{sup 3}3/day of supercritical CO{sub 2} at 143 bars, which is sequestered in enhanced oil recovery operations 500 km away. A CO{sub 2} emission rate of 1 kgCO{sub 2}/kWh was assumed for power purchases outside the fence of the IGCC plant.