From: Bill Stoddard (stoddard@raleigh.ibm.com)
Date: Thu Jan 25 2001 - 11:07:44 PST
Really interesting post!
>
> Hydrogen can be made from fossil, renewables, hydro/aeolian/etc,
> photovoltaics and nuke. Unlike electricity, it can be transported
> essentially lossless, and can be stored easily. So it's both transport
> and storage form of energy (most efficiently, with fuel cells). Of course,
> you can also utilize it in a caloric burn, with catalysts you don't emit
> anything but traces of nitrogen oxides.
Never considered the idea of generating hydrogen (rather than electricity)
with nuclear power and transporting it via pipeline.
Think the transport can really be made lossless (economically that is)? H2 is
much smaller than any hydrocarbon and would be more prone to diffuse through
the pipe and compound that held the pipe segments together. No idea if
diffusion would be a significant source of loss though. Also wouldn't the pipe
have to be significantly larger (or under much higher pressure) since the
energy per unit volume of hydrogen (at some pressure) significantly less that
natural gas?
Bill
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