Hydrogen Production and Storage

Given the environmental concerns over the use of fossil fuels, the search for non-fossil energy sources to cover the increasing energy demands is gathering a lot of interest. Hydrogen fuel, being CO2 neutral and non-pollutant, is one of these sources. The main scope of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive review of hydrogen production and storage technologies. Firstly, various hydrogen production methods are discussed, including the utilization of various primary sources. Apart from the conventional natural gas and coal based hydrogen production, more recent technologies, including solar, photobiologic electrolysis and supercritical water gasification are presented. In the second part of the chapter, hydrogen gaseous and liquid storage methods are discussed. Regarding gaseous hydrogen storage, several types of commercially available steel and composite tanks are presented. Furthermore, the option of storage via glass microspheres is briefly presented. For liquid hydrogen storage, two of the most common options are analyzed: cryogenic liquid hydrogen and NaBH4 solutions. In the last section of the chapter, the most recent advances in hydrogen storage in solid materials and its storage via conversion to other fuels are discussed with an overview of the challenges of these options.

Keywords: Electrolysis, Gas Storage, Hydrogen, POx, Pyrolysis, Steam Methane Reforming, Supercritical Water Gasification.