Hydrogen, an Energy System Concept
Authors: Rosenberg R.B. , Gregory D.P. 
Published: December 2007

This paper was prepared for the 47th Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in San, Antonio, Tex., Oct. 8–11, 1972 Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon requested to the Editor of the appropriate journal, provided agreement to give proper credit is made. provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers Office. Such discussions may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

As our fossil fuels become depleted, their cost will increase until alternative energy sources become competitive. The cost of providing an energy supply is strongly influenced by the cost of delivering or transmitting the energy from its source to its point of use. Modern technology is leaning toward electrical energy as a means of supplying our increasing energy needs and toward nuclear-electric power as an ultimate substitute for fossil power as an ultimate substitute for fossil fuel.

Electric power, however, is a most expensive energy form to transmit and deliver and is not readily storable. A synthetic chemical fuel could be storable and cheaper to transit. Consideration of the various synthetic chemical fuels which could be made from nuclear power leads one to consider hydrogen as the cleanest and simplest candidate for an energy-distribution medium whose combustion products are compatible with the atmosphere.

Hydrogen could, in principle, be distributed as universally as natural gas is today, using much of the same technology, but its use would present some new technological problems. It could do all of the jobs done by natural gas, and more, and its universal availability would give rise to new technological opportunities. Transition and a "hydrogen economy" would have to be a well-planned and long-thought-out nationwide operation. Since hydrogen can easily be made today from conventional fossil fuels, it could bridge the gap between the fossil age and the nuclear age by a well-thought-out conversion program.

Introduction

The United States is in the midst of an energy crisis. The immediate inaplications of this crisis are already visible with electrical brownouts, curtailment of natural gas service in many areas, and general increases in the price of energy. The longer range implications of this crisis are not fully apparent. What we may be seeing is the start of a new revolution in energy supply.

To meet the current energy demands in the United States, we must annually supply in excess of 60 quadrillion (1015) Btu' (The 1969 consumption was 60. 8 X 10–15 Btu.) One hundred years ago, our energy demands were less than 5 quadrillion Btu.