What is Hydrogen Fuel and What is it Used For?

Oct 8, 2021 | Hydrogen Fuel

As the demand for energy increases, many people wonder, “What is hydrogen fuel?” Hydrogen is a clean fuel that has shown promising benefits in aeronautics and power generation industries. Hydrogen fuel is made from several domestic resources like natural gas and biomass. 

Like wind and solar energy, hydrogen fuel is a renewable energy source. As a result, it makes hydrogen fuel an attractive option for fuel and electricity. You can use the fuel in motor vehicles, domestic power sources, and other applications.

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Now, let’s turn our attention to the methods of hydrogen production and the fuel’s uses.

Types of Hydrogen Production

Here are the different methods for hydrogen production.

  • Thermal Process: This high-temperature process involves a hydrocarbon reaction with steam to produce the fuel. Such hydrocarbon fuels include diesel, natural gas, gasified coal, and liquid fuels.
  • Electrolytic Process: Involves the separation of hydrogen and oxygen in water through electrolysis. The process occurs in an electrolyzer that works like a fuel cell in reverse. In other words, it creates hydrogen from water molecules.
  • Biological Process: This process uses microorganisms like microalgae and bacteria to generate hydrogen through biological reactions. The microbes break down all the organic matter like wastewater and biomass to produce hydrogen.
  •  Solar-Driven Process: This method uses light as an agent for generating hydrogen. Some of the solar-driven processes available include photobiological, thermochemical, and photoelectrochemical techniques.

Hydrogen Fuel Uses

Hydrogen fuel has many applications in many industries in the United States, including

  • Use of hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity in the U.S.
  • Use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel in internal combustion engines
  • The aeronautic and space industry uses hydrogen as rocket fuel

The Future Fuel?

With the rising demand for clean energy, hydrogen fuel is becoming more popular. Many companies promote natural gas as a reliable, next-generation fuel to heat homes, power vehicles, and generate electricity. The biggest issue is that producing hydrogen fuel from natural gas is a costly process. 

Sapphire and Hydrogen

Now that you know what hydrogen fuel is, you can invest in it when the need arises.  Since natural gas is the primary source of hydrogen gas, it’s also worth knowing providers like Sapphire Gas Solutions. 

Contact us to learn more applications of natural gas.