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| Wed, 29th Apr 2020 15:00:00 |
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The First International Hydrogen Supply Chain Is a Big Deal |
The energy industry could have a new way to get hydrogen around the globe. A consortium of energy industry players in Japan and Brunei have safely moved hydrogen that's bonded with another chemical for transport before being dehydrogenated at the destination.
Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) take an important place in this kind of hydrogen shipping. That's because turning hydrogen directly to liquid—best known as "the signature fuel of the American space program"—requires near-absolute-zero temperatures and extraordinary care. NASA explains:
"Because liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are both cryogenic—gases that can be liquefied only at extremely low temperatures—they pose enormous technical challenges. Liquid hydrogen must be stored at minus 423°F and handled with extreme care. To keep it from evaporating or boiling off, rockets fuelled with liquid hydrogen must be carefully insulated from all sources of heat, such as rocket engine exhaust and air friction during flight through the atmosphere."
Rocket engine exhaust isn't part of the average oversea cargo ship, but "all sources of heat" including friction is a dangerous blanket statement. By taking hydrogen gas and dissolving it into another chemical, LOHC advocates say, they can carry hydrogen in normal surface conditions and without that level of care.
But look again: liquid organic hydrogen carriers. These carbon-carrying members of the organic compounds family are also flammable. The fact that hydrogen is both the most flammable (and the star of the Hindenburg disaster) doesn't mean these mixers and products aren't also flammable. In this case, hydrogen is blended with methylbenzene (toluene) to make methylcyclohexane. Both are still hazardous materials that must be handled with great care.
Read original full article
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