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H 2 generation from alkaline electrolyzer
Author(s) -
Bodner Merit,
Hofer Astrid,
Hacker Viktor
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: energy and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.158
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 2041-840X
pISSN - 2041-8396
DOI - 10.1002/wene.150
Subject(s) - hydrogen production , energy carrier , waste management , electrolysis , renewable energy , ammonia production , alkaline water electrolysis , electrolysis of water , fossil fuel , power to gas , environmental science , steam reforming , hydrogen , hydrogen economy , hydrogen fuel , natural gas , process engineering , chemistry , electrolyte , ammonia , engineering , electrode , electrical engineering , organic chemistry
Water electrolysis is a promising approach to hydrogen production from renewable energy sources. Even though it is not necessarily environmentally friendly and a large number of possible feedstocks for hydrogen production include fossil resources such as coal, natural gas, and mineral oil, but also biomass, water, and components such as ethanol, methane, or ammonia can be used for hydrogen production. Also, a large variety of different energy sources can be used for hydrogen production. The combination of hydrogen production with renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaics, hydropower, or wind energy is very suitable though. Many innovative processes have been subject to intense research and some have already reached high efficiencies. Alkaline water electrolyzers with anion‐conducting membranes hold many advantages in comparison to other systems. As cheaper, non‐noble metals are stable in alkaline media, the relatively low cost of the electrode materials is one of the main advantages of alkaline systems over electrolyzers using proton‐conducting electrolytes. Therefore, the main part of published literature on alkaline electrolysis describes electrodes based on low cost materials such as nickel for both anode and cathode. Yet still alkaline water electrolyzers have to compete against other forms of hydrogen production, such as steam reforming of natural gas. Even though many studies expect water electrolysis to become economically viable on a long‐term basis, conventional hydrogen production is still hard to under‐price. WIREs Energy Environ 2015, 4:365–381. doi: 10.1002/wene.150 This article is categorized under: Fuel Cells and Hydrogen > Science and Materials