Get to know Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. It is a major component of water, oil, natural gas, and all living matter. Despite its simplicity and abundance, hydrogen rarely occurs naturally as a gas on Earth. It almost always combines with other elements. It can be produced from oil, natural gas, and biomass, or by splitting water using renewable solar or electric energy. Hydrogen is an energy carrier used to power, store, and transport energy generated from other sources.
Hydrogen is also abundant on Earth and is the most common element in the universe (making up about 75% of the universe’s matter). It is present in water, almost all organic compounds, and biomass.
Hydrogen, which consists of just one proton and one electron, is the simplest and lightest two-atom gas. It is found in the greatest quantity on Earth in a bound state, mainly in water. The first element on the periodic table was discovered by Henry Cavendish almost 250 years ago. In its normal state, hydrogen is colorless, odorless, highly flammable, and an excellent conductor of heat. Its density is about 14 times less than that of normal air, and it has significant diffusivity, meaning it mixes very well and quickly.
Hydrogen can be produced, for example, by the electrolytic decomposition of water, which generates oxygen and hydrogen, and the final product of
burning hydrogen is water, which returns to the cycle. It can also be industrially extracted from natural gas by steam reforming, or from methanol, ethanol, and biomass.
Hydrogen can be used as an energy source and fuel in numerous fields, and it could play a dominant role in energy distribution in the future.
The use of hydrogen is not new, as it has been used for almost 250 years, and has been extensively used in the chemical industry for about 100 years. Currently, almost 80 million tons of hydrogen are produced annually worldwide, and there are several industrial hydrogen production facilities operating in Hungary, such as in Százhalombatta, Kazincbarcika, and Budapest. Typically, it is used in ammonia production, petroleum refining, and many other industries, but industrial gas companies also routinely produce hydrogen, although in much smaller quantities.
The traditional method of laboratory production of hydrogen, which is often demonstrated in schools, is by pouring hydrochloric acid onto zinc. Hydrogen gas is then evolved, and zinc chloride is produced.
Zn + 2HCl = ZnCl2 + H2
Another well-known method involves reacting an alkali metal, such as sodium, with water. This results in a vigorous reaction that produces hydrogen gas:
2Na + 2H2O = 2NaOH + H2
However, neither of these reactions is used on an industrial scale for large-scale hydrogen production. Although hydrogen can be found in many substances, it is currently predominantly produced from fossil fuels. Specifically, hydrogen is often produced from natural gas, or more precisely, methane (CH4). This method is also known as steam methane reforming (SMR).