Hydrogen Sources - Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Advances in Transportation and Power - page 115

such as the direct and indirect sources of solar energy, this includes the
large quantities of agricultural wastes, sewage, paper and other biomass
materials that have been accumulating in landfills.
Generating hydrogen from such waste materials may turn out to be
one of the least expensive methods of producing hydrogen since this re-
source is quite extensive. It has been estimated that in the U.S., roughly 14
quads of the annual 64 quad total energy requirement could be met from
renewable biomass sources, which is about 20% of our total energy needs.
Sewage in vast quantities of billions of gallons per day could be re-
cycled to produce a renewable source of hydrogen. This can be accom-
plished either by utilizing the non-photosynthetic bacteria that live in the
digestive tracts and wastes of humans and other animals, or by pyrolysis-
gasification methods.
Advanced sewage treatment systems could turn the billions of gal-
lons of raw sewage that is being dumped into rivers and oceans into rela-
tively low-cost hydrogen.
High-temperature nuclear-fusion reactors may some day be prac-
tical as renewable sources of energy for hydrogen production, but they
are most likely many years away. Typically, over 100 million degrees F
temperatures are required for nuclear fusion to occur and this technology,
while under development, is not expected to be commercially viable in the
near future.
NATURAL GAS HYDROGEN
Natural gas is the least expensive source of hydrogen today. But,
there may not be enough natural gas to meet the demand for natural gas
power plants and to supply a hydrogen fueled economy. The prices of
natural gas, hydrogen and electricity could see dramatic increases as the
demand for natural gas to make hydrogen increases.
The delivered cost of hydrogen from natural gas would need to be-
come competitive with the delivered cost of gasoline. The infrastructure
costs must be managed over time with total estimates reaching a trillion
dollars or more.
It is not known which would be cheaper and more practical, electrol-
ysis or reforming methane at small local filling stations or at large central-
ized plants. Technological advances are sure to change many aspects and
questions.