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Realistic-Plant3957 OP t1_j28u7w2 wrote

However, a new study by researchers from Cambridge University has warned that green hydrogen production processes may not be as sustainable as initially believed.

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BoomZhakaLaka t1_j29bwgm wrote

Raj is a blog about science journalism. Here's why that matters: he gets a few things wrong by writing in his own words. The original article is more accurate. here

One example from Raj's blog:

"It concluded that in many cases, there were no incentives for producers to use low-carbon methods such as electrolysis instead of high-carbon ones like steam reforming – which produces more CO2 emissions than their cleaner counterparts when extracting hydrogen from natural gas molecules"

Okay: the Euronews article does talk about grey hydrogen. But this paragraph is all wrong. One does not simply disincentive grey hydrogen; steam reforming scrubs leftover methane from turbine exhaust, making power plants run cleaner.

Next, you're probably not getting grey hydrogen at a fill station - it's best used in the power plant that makes it. These are usually two different supply chains.

I question whether ron knows much about steam reforming.

The actual study focuses mostly on hydrogen leaks and how they can have a negative climate impact. And this is why steam reforming is relevant: it gives us a foundation of data to study regarding hydrogen leaks.

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JustinWendell t1_j29svog wrote

Just to help the lazy, what are the impacts of hydrogen leaks? I haven’t ever seen it used as a greenhouse gas example or anything like that.

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gerkletoss t1_j29yrda wrote

As long as the concentration isn't high enough to be flammable, it's fine. It will semiquickly react with oxygen in the atmosphere, forming water.

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BoomZhakaLaka t1_j2a0kp7 wrote

The euroweek article claims that hydrogen leaks change relative concentrations of other gases in the atmosphere and this somehow has a net heating effect. I'm sorry, I'm not the right person. They might have a point. Someone more knowledgeable will have to chime in.

Another very problematic byproduct of electrolysis is brine. Handled improperly, brine disposal on an industrial scale could devastate entire ecosystems. That would include large ocean biomes. Responsible brine disposal is expensive, so will big industry do the right thing? Answer is no. That's not what this article is about, though.

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Shot-Job-8841 t1_j2a4rfe wrote

> Another very problematic byproduct of electrolysis is brine. Handled improperly, brine disposal on an industrial scale could devastate entire ecosystems. That would include large ocean biomes. Responsible brine disposal is expensive, so will big industry do the right thing?

I know an industrial employer who just made sure their Brine was dumped 5NM from land and said that was sufficient. I’m still struggling to understand why they believed that.

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BoomZhakaLaka t1_j2a7eip wrote

Scale changes everything. I could accept this answer from a power plant running a desalinator to get their pure water. But, larger operations are a problem, and hopefully your person's company is doing continuous environmental impact study.

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Feisty_Ad_961 t1_j2ahus7 wrote

I'm not an expert on EPA regulations but the very specific 5NM sounds like it probably comes from some law or permit the company has.

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jawshoeaw t1_j2cnor6 wrote

It would depend on ocean current depth wind patterns etc but the oceans are massive, beyond our understanding. We can never make enough hydrogen to alter ocean chemistry assuming the byproducts are properly dispersed.

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Shot-Job-8841 t1_j2cqm3u wrote

Oh, no this wasn’t for making hydrogen. We were making feed water from salt water.

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zenfalc t1_j2cr85e wrote

Correct. But there's money involved in doing it properly, so assume many businesses will intentionally do it improperly

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