Hydrogen could replace oil
Consultant says hydrogen is safer than gasoline.
Published Sept. 29, 2006
It has no smell, it has no taste, and it is lighter than air. It's a proven rocket fuel, and scientists have studied its use in small machines for more than 200 years. It also doesn't get used that much in everyday society.
Hydrogen consultant Terence Hee told MU students Tuesday evening about how hydrogen has been used in the past and could be used in the future. The MU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers invited Hee, who also works for a pipeline inspection company.
"I think it's kind of a popular topic right now, and it encompasses a lot of different types of engineering," ASME chapter president Emily Pfautsch said. "I thought it'd be a great presentation not just for mechanical engineers but for the college as a whole."
Hee explained the theory behind hydrogen fuel cells and several of the gas's other applications, making no effort to hide problems with using hydrogen.
"When you read the literature from the hydrogen manufacturers, all you hear is the good stuff," Hee said. "If you believe in a technology, you need to support it and tell the truth about it."
He said one of the biggest problems is storing and transporting the hydrogen. But contrary to the perception that hydrogen is too dangerous for everyday use, he said the threat of explosions is small. Hee said disasters such as the burning and crash of the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg airship have given people a false impression of the fuel.
"It is not a bomb. It is less dangerous than gasoline because it's lighter," Hee said. "It goes up and leaves immediately. Gas spreads out and leaves a vapor cloud."
Hee said the Hindenburg disaster was primarily a diesel fire ignited by static electricity — not hydrogen.
After his presentation, Hee stayed for more than a half hour to discuss hydrogen in more detail with interested students.
Hee and the students who spoke with him after the presentation discussed topics from the details of a commercial fuel cell to the proper design of a hydrogen pipeline.
Jeff Owens, a graduate student who was deployed in Iraq for 15 months, said he hoped hydrogen would eventually supplant the need for oil.
"I would much rather go over there knowing that we're going to take solar or hydrogen energy and rebuild Iraq where they have world-class solar and let them be part of a world economy where they can export hydrogen gas to the Middle East — rather than making sure that we can keep the oil flowing as it starts to run out," he said.
Owens also said he would like to see more hydrogen-related research on campus.
Graduate student Andrew Ritts said he believes one reason the public isn't as well informed about technological issues is that engineering isn't a very public profession.
"Not many engineers get into politics, advertising or those kinds of things," he said. "Engineers know about their field, but nobody else will because nobody advertises it, and people in politics don't know what they're talking about."
Still, since the gas's flame velocity is 10 times that of natural gas, Hee had a warning for researchers.
"Don't cheat and don't take shortcuts because you're playing with fire," Hee said.