Hydrogen Energy 101
What is hydrogen?
Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe. It can be extracted from many sources including water and fossil fuels such as natural gas or coal. When oxidized, or combined chemically with oxygen, its by-products are heat and water. This is why hydrogen bears so much promise as a source of clean energy.
What is carbon dioxide?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas we exhale when we breathe, the source of bubbles in carbonated drinks and the gas that trees synthesize into oxygen. It is the increased concentrations of atmospheric CO2 that is believed to be contributing to global climate change.
What is gasification?
Gasification is a process that converts carbon based materials, such as coal, petroleum, or biomass, into carbon monoxide and hydrogen by partial oxidation of the material at high temperatures. The resulting gas mixture is called synthesis gas, or syngas, and is itself a fuel. The syngas can be further reacted with steam to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
What is carbon capture and storage (sometimes called sequestration)?
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an approach to mitigate climate change by capturing CO2 and storing it instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. The process captures and then transports the CO2 to be stored safely and permanently deep underground – typically approximately 1 mile below the surface. In this instance the underground store is an oil field where the stored CO2 will act to extend the life of the oil field.
What is Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)?
EOR is the process of injecting and recycling CO2 into an oil field where the CO2 thins and displaces oil within the pore spaces and increases pressure in the oil reservoir thereby enabling the recovery of previously unrecoverable oil.
What is petroleum coke (petcoke)?
Petcoke is a by-product of the oil refining process. Crude oil must be refined to produce gasoline and other products and the residue left over can be further refined by “coking” it at high temperatures and under pressure. The resulting product is petcoke, a hard substance that is similar to coal but typically less petcoke needs to be burned to create the same amount of heat as from coal.
For more information on these see our factsheets