2 replies to this topic

[Rainbow Crow]

I was reading about alternative energy and alternative fertilizer sources, since our food comes from mono-culture crops that use petrol-based fertilizers. The most popular alternatives all seem to be hydrogen-based at all or at least at some points.

Further research turned up the fact that hydrogen gasses can exit the atmosphere entirely, leaving the planet into outer space, and that the loss of hydrogen gas to outer space is expected to make the earth uninhabitable in about 3 billion years.

Since we make hydrogen from water and water is what stabilizes the temperature and supports life, doesn't this mean that hydrogen gas producing alternatives that diminish the water supply and the total supply of materials on the planet are in fact far worse for the environment in the long run than generating carbon dioxide is? Since even though carbon dioxide buildup is harmful, it is still absorbed by plants and stays on the planet, unlike hydrogen gas.

[still learning]

Rainbow Crow, on 12 November 2012 - 03:24 PM, said:

I was reading.....Since we make hydrogen from water and water is what stabilizes the temperature and supports life, doesn't this mean that hydrogen gas producing alternatives that diminish the water supply....

I don't see a problem.
Producing hydrogen from water does reduce the amount of water, but it's oxidized right back to water when used as fuel, exactly the same amount.  No net loss.

[E3 wise]

You ask a good question

Hydrogen binds well to most other elements, which is why it does not exist by itself in nature here on earth, what that means is that if you were to take a kilogram of hydrogen and let it to the atmosphere it would bind with the oxygen to form water vapor before it could reach the upper atmosphere.

Hydrogen takes Enery to produce, when using alternative energy it allows you to store excess energy in a small footprint and compress it to have a lot of energy in a small area.  Meaning that 5 kilogram of hydrogen at 500 bar allows fuel cell cars to travel 280 to 400 miles on 1 fill up, depending on the model.  As Still Learning pointed out the only byproduct is water vapor.

Hope this helps