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Title: Hydrogen energy systems studies. Final technical report

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/290910· OSTI ID:290910

The results of previous studies suggest that the use of hydrogen from natural gas might be an important first step toward a hydrogen economy based on renewables. Because of infrastructure considerations (the difficulty and cost of storing, transmitting and distributing hydrogen), hydrogen produced from natural gas at the end-user`s site could be a key feature in the early development of hydrogen energy systems. In the first chapter of this report, the authors assess the technical and economic prospects for small scale technologies for producing hydrogen from natural gas (steam reformers, autothermal reformers and partial oxidation systems), addressing the following questions: (1) What are the performance, cost and emissions of small scale steam reformer technology now on the market? How does this compare to partial oxidation and autothermal systems? (2) How do the performance and cost of reformer technologies depend on scale? What critical technologies limit cost and performance of small scale hydrogen production systems? What are the prospects for potential cost reductions and performance improvements as these technologies advance? (3) How would reductions in the reformer capital cost impact the delivered cost of hydrogen transportation fuel? In the second chapter of this report the authors estimate the potential demand for hydrogen transportation fuel in Southern California.

Research Organization:
Princeton Univ., Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, NJ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
FG36-95GO10061; FG04-94AL85803
OSTI ID:
290910
Report Number(s):
DOE/GO/10061-T1; DOE/AL/85803-T1; ON: DE99001153; TRN: AHC29901%%115
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 13 Aug 1996
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English