The History and Production of Hydrogen

Hydrogen gas was first identified as an element in 1766, by British scientist Henry Cavendish, in an experiment wherein he separated hydrogen gas by reacting zinc metal plates with hydrochloric acid. Cavendish found that when he applied a spark to the resulting hydrogen gas, it yielded water. It wasn’t until some years later that French chemist Antoine Lavoisier gave hydrogen its modern name. The word hydrogen is derived from the Greek words ‘hydro’ and ‘genes’, which translate as ‘born of water.’ In 1800, two English scientists, William Nicholson and Sir Anthony Carlisle, discovered electrolysis. They found that by applying an electric current to water, the resulting reaction produced both oxygen and hydrogen gases. This discovery eventually gave birth to the concept of the fuel cell. In essence, a fuel cell is no more complex than performing electrolysis in reverse. In 1839, a Swiss chemist, by the name of Christian Schoenbein, performed the first fuel cell experiment wherein he combined oxygen and hydrogen to produce water and a small electric current. Only six short years later, in 1845, Sir William Grove utilized Schoenbein’s discovery to create the very first functioning hydrogen gas battery. It is for this reason that Grove is known as the ‘Father of the Fuel Cell.’ Both a physicist and inventor, Sir William Grove, developed the concept of generating electrical power by means of introducing oxygen and hydrogen in the presence of an electrolyte almost 170 years ago. He conceived the first hydrogen fuel cell in 1839 and developed a working prototype. Although he is credited with this invention, the reality is that his concept and experimentation were far more valuable than the actual cell itself as it was unable to ...

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... accounts for 95% of the hydrogen produced today. In addition to steam reforming, another natural gas-hydrogen process called partial oxidation produces hydrogen by burning methane in the presence of air. Both methods produce a synthesis gas, which is then reacted with additional steam to produce a higher yield, higher hydrogen content gas stream.

Electrolysis is another well-known production method for obtaining hydrogen gas. An electric current is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. While effective, the process requires a significant amount of energy in the form of electricity. The electricity required can be generated using a number of methods. However, to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, electricity generation using renewable energy technologies is preferred. Those include wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric generation methods.