The hydrogen economy - Where is the water?
“Green hydrogen”, i.e. hydrogen produced by splitting water with a carbon “free” source of electricity via electrolysis, is set to become the energy vector enabling a deep decarbonisation of society and a virtuous water based energy cycle. If to date, water electrolysis is considered to be a scalabl...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Energy Nexus |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277242712200078X |
| _version_ | 1811271193130434560 |
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| author | Philip Woods Heriberto Bustamante Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou |
| author_facet | Philip Woods Heriberto Bustamante Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou |
| author_sort | Philip Woods |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | “Green hydrogen”, i.e. hydrogen produced by splitting water with a carbon “free” source of electricity via electrolysis, is set to become the energy vector enabling a deep decarbonisation of society and a virtuous water based energy cycle. If to date, water electrolysis is considered to be a scalable technology, the source of water to enable a “green hydrogen” economy at scale is questionable. Countries with the highest renewable energy potential like Australia, are also among the driest places on earth. Globally 380,000 GL/year of wastewater is available, and this is much more than the 34,500 GL/year of water required to produce the projected 2.3 Gt of hydrogen of a mature hydrogen economy. Hence the need to assess both technically and economically whether some wastewater treatment effluent, are a better source for green hydrogen. Analysis of Sydney Water's wastewater treatment plants alone shows that these plants have 37.6 ML/day of unused tertiary effluents, which if electrolysed would generate 420,000 t H2/day or 0.88 Mt H2/year, and cover ∼100% of Australia's estimated production by 2030. Furthermore, the production of oxygen as a by-product of the electrolysis process could lead to significant benefits to the water industry, not only in reducing the cost of the hydrogen produced for $3/kg (assuming a price of oxygen of $3–4 per kg), but also in improving the environmental footprint of wastewater treatment plants by enabling the onsite re-use of oxygen for the treatment of the wastewater. Compared to desalinated water that requires large investments, or stormwater that is unpredictable, it is apparent that the water utilities have a critical role to play in managing water assets that are “climate independent” as the next “golden oil” opportunity and in enabling a “responsible” hydrogen industry, that sensibly manages its water demands and does not compete with existing water potable water demand. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:16:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e32c26ca2f084fc9a45eb4c2d7163fe3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2772-4271 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:16:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energy Nexus |
| spelling | doaj.art-e32c26ca2f084fc9a45eb4c2d7163fe32022-12-22T03:14:31ZengElsevierEnergy Nexus2772-42712022-09-017100123The hydrogen economy - Where is the water?Philip Woods0Heriberto Bustamante1Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou2Sydney Water, 1 Smith Street, Parramatta, NSW 2125, AustraliaSydney Water, 1 Smith Street, Parramatta, NSW 2125, Australia; Corresponding authors.MERlin, School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Corresponding authors.“Green hydrogen”, i.e. hydrogen produced by splitting water with a carbon “free” source of electricity via electrolysis, is set to become the energy vector enabling a deep decarbonisation of society and a virtuous water based energy cycle. If to date, water electrolysis is considered to be a scalable technology, the source of water to enable a “green hydrogen” economy at scale is questionable. Countries with the highest renewable energy potential like Australia, are also among the driest places on earth. Globally 380,000 GL/year of wastewater is available, and this is much more than the 34,500 GL/year of water required to produce the projected 2.3 Gt of hydrogen of a mature hydrogen economy. Hence the need to assess both technically and economically whether some wastewater treatment effluent, are a better source for green hydrogen. Analysis of Sydney Water's wastewater treatment plants alone shows that these plants have 37.6 ML/day of unused tertiary effluents, which if electrolysed would generate 420,000 t H2/day or 0.88 Mt H2/year, and cover ∼100% of Australia's estimated production by 2030. Furthermore, the production of oxygen as a by-product of the electrolysis process could lead to significant benefits to the water industry, not only in reducing the cost of the hydrogen produced for $3/kg (assuming a price of oxygen of $3–4 per kg), but also in improving the environmental footprint of wastewater treatment plants by enabling the onsite re-use of oxygen for the treatment of the wastewater. Compared to desalinated water that requires large investments, or stormwater that is unpredictable, it is apparent that the water utilities have a critical role to play in managing water assets that are “climate independent” as the next “golden oil” opportunity and in enabling a “responsible” hydrogen industry, that sensibly manages its water demands and does not compete with existing water potable water demand.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277242712200078XHydrogenWater electrolysisWastewater treatment plantsTertiary treatment effluentsGreen hydrogen economyWater industry |
| spellingShingle | Philip Woods Heriberto Bustamante Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou The hydrogen economy - Where is the water? Energy Nexus Hydrogen Water electrolysis Wastewater treatment plants Tertiary treatment effluents Green hydrogen economy Water industry |
| title | The hydrogen economy - Where is the water? |
| title_full | The hydrogen economy - Where is the water? |
| title_fullStr | The hydrogen economy - Where is the water? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The hydrogen economy - Where is the water? |
| title_short | The hydrogen economy - Where is the water? |
| title_sort | hydrogen economy where is the water |
| topic | Hydrogen Water electrolysis Wastewater treatment plants Tertiary treatment effluents Green hydrogen economy Water industry |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277242712200078X |
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