NPPD to become first U.S. utility to produce electricity from clean-burning hydrogen

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Henry J. Cordes

HALLAM, Neb. — In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Nebraska Public Power District will become the first utility in the nation to produce electricity from clean-burning hydrogen.

The green energy initiative announced Friday represents a unique collaboration between the state's largest utility and a California-based manufacturer that will be bringing 100 new jobs to the state.

Monolith Materials makes carbon black, a product used in numerous consumer products, including tires, ink and cell phones. Hydrogen is a by-product of the carbon black manufacturing process.

Monolith will build its plant adjacent to NPPD's coal-fired Sheldon Station generating plant near Hallam, Nebraska, just south of Lincoln.

FULL story at link. Video: http://studio.omaha.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=91341&ndn.siteSection=omahawh&ndn.videoId=28911441&freewheel=91341&sitesection=omahawh&vid=28911441



REBECCA S. GRATZ/THE WORLD-HERALD

Gov. Pete Ricketts at the partnership announcement between NPPD and Monolith Materials at NPPD's Sheldon Power Station in Hallam, Nebraska, on April 17, 2015.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nppd-to-become-first-u-s-utility-to-produce-electricity/article_b4d4039e-e51d-11e4-bec9-0b6fd4e04c0e.html

[Snotcicles]

1. That sounds like a great idea so far. nt

[Gregorian]

2. Only if it's a byproduct. Otherwise it's a poor nonsolution that's being forced on us.

Hydrogen is at best a storage medium. Not an energy source. If you don't understand, then go to the environment forum and do some homework.

[DCBob]

14. if you would have read the article..

"Monolith Materials makes carbon black, a product used in numerous consumer products, including tires, plastic, ink and cellphones. And hydrogen will be a byproduct of Monolith’s carbon black manufacturing process."

[Klong]

3. I'm all for clean energy

hopefully more states can follow their action.

[longship]

4. Generate hydrogen from a coal-fired plant?

Then burn the hydrogen?

Are these guys totally mad?

[LiberalArkie]

5. I think they are going to build next to the coal plant because the infrastructure is already

there. Then they can maybe retrofit a coal boiler to gas boiler.

[longship]

6. But where is the hydrogen coming from?

Pure Hydrogen is not natural on Earth. There is no source of such hydrogen. None whatsoever.

So where do they get it? And how much energy must be expended to get it?

HINT! They get it by breaking up hydrogen-based molecules (like water) freeing the hydrogen. And it always takes more energy to free the hydrogen than is generated by burning it. (Thank you, laws of thermodynamics.)

There is no such thing as a hydrogen fuel economy, because pure hydrogen does not exist on our planet.

Hydrogen is at best an energy storage medium.

[bananas]

10. The hydrogen is coming from natural gas.

They have a plant which turns methane into carbon black and hydrogen.
Don't know what they used to do with the hydrogen, but now they are burning it for electricity.
They are using a converted coal boiler to burn the hydrogen.

[longship]

11. Well, unless there is a use for the carbon black...

or that the carbon black production is the purpose of the plant, it is idiocy to break out hydrogen from methane only for purposes of burning the hydrogen. The energy used to generate the hydrogen and carbon black has to be more than the energy generated by burning the hydrogen.

So I hope that the carbon black has some use other than freeing the hydrogen.

[skepticscott]

13. Um...every tire on the road is loaded with carbon black

So are black paints, plastics and rubbers of all kinds. It's a huge product and has been for a long time. It's going to be made in bulk whether the hydrogen by-product is used or not, so why not use it?

[longship]

15. Thanks. Now I know about carbon black.

That was what I was trying to figure out.

Now it all makes sense.

Regards.

[Yo_Mama]

8. No, they are going to use the hydrogen byproduct of a manufacturing plant

as fuel. It makes sense, esp. with credits.

Not a large scale solution, though.

[longship]

9. Okay. Thanks. Makes some sense at least. nt

[jeff47]

7. And that hydrogen comes from......?

Hint: The only commercially viable source of bulk hydrogen at the moment is natural gas. So instead of releasing the CO2 at the power plant, you release it at the hydrogen-making plant.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. It would make more sense to use the hydrogen to make fertiliser or as a vehicle fuel

It's being used experimentally as a fuel for vehicles. It's light (thought a container for it isn't).

http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/fuel_cells.html

or to use it to make fertiliser - it's a vital input in the Haber-Bosch process to make ammonia, from which nitrates are made, and currently that is produced from methane or other hydrocarbons:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process

There won't be many times that hydrogen is a by-product of the process you're mainly in business for; running a static electrical generator from it isn't using its features particularly well.

In the longer term, the plan will be to produce the hydrogen from electricity, that had been produced from a clean source like solar or wind. We'll need it for fertiliser, and it may be a good vehicle fuel.