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Scientists extract hydrogen gas from oil and bitumen, giving potential pollution-free energy
WUWT ^ | November 11, 2019 | Goldschmidt Conference

Posted on 11/11/2019 8:21:41 PM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget

Scientists have developed a large-scale economical method to extract hydrogen (H2) from oil sands (natural bitumen) and oil fields. This can be used to power hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are already marketed in some countries, as well as to generate electricity; hydrogen is regarded as an efficient transport fuel, similar to petrol and diesel, but with no pollution problems. The process can extract hydrogen from existing oil sands reservoirs, with huge existing supplies found in Canada and Venezuela. Interestingly, this process can be applied to mainstream oil fields, causing them to produce hydrogen instead of oil.

Hydrogen powered vehicles, including cars, buses, and trains, have been in development for many years. These vehicles have been acknowledged to be efficient, but the high price of extracting the Hydrogen from oil reserves has meant that the technology has not been economically viable. Now a group of Canadian engineers have developed a cheap method of extracting H2 from oil sands. They are presenting this work at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Barcelona.

“There are vast oil sand reservoirs in several countries, with huge fields in Alberta in Canada, but also in Venezuela and other countries” said Dr. Ian Gates, of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Calgary, and of Proton Technologies Inc.).

Oil fields, even abandoned oil fields, still contain significant amounts of oil. The researchers have found that injecting oxygen into the fields raises the temperature and liberates H2, which can then be separated from other gases via specialist filters. Hydrogen is not pre-existing in the reservoirs, but pumping oxygen means that the reaction to form hydrogen can take place.

Grant Strem, CEO of Proton Technologies which is commercializing the process says “This technique can draw up huge quantities of hydrogen while leaving the carbon in the ground. When working at production level, we anticipate we will be able to use the existing infrastructure and distribution chains to produce H2 for between 10 and 50 cents per kilo. This means it potentially costs a fraction of gasoline for equivalent output”. This compares with current H2 production costs of around $2/kilo. Around 5% of the H2 produced then powers the oxygen production plant, so the system more than pays for itself.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: chemicalcracking; globalwarming; greennewdeal; h2; hydrogen; nonscience; nonsense; perpetualmotion; piginapoke
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To: BipolarBob

Wasn’t the Hindenburg floated with H2?


21 posted on 11/11/2019 9:09:04 PM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: Vermont Lt

Yeah, it was built for helium though.


22 posted on 11/11/2019 9:13:58 PM PST by BipolarBob (Bipolars have more fun. No we don't.)
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To: rockinqsranch

There is a net loss, but it is a reality that energy production is a subsidized activity in the world to make the modern world possible and not send us back to the Stone age.

Thus could help lead to quenching the thirst of the deserts of the world and make the world bloom.


23 posted on 11/11/2019 9:16:10 PM PST by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death by cultsther)
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To: BipolarBob

Thanks. I know machines are tad bit more secure these days. Just wanted to refresh my memory.


24 posted on 11/11/2019 9:16:39 PM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget

“Pollution free” eh?

So, the process requires no external energy?


25 posted on 11/11/2019 9:20:10 PM PST by doorgunner69
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To: Vermont Lt

Do you really think the left would settle for pollution free energy.


26 posted on 11/11/2019 9:21:15 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: BipolarBob

[[Which means my tailpipe will rust out.]]

No- tail pipes will be made out of solidified speedi dri


27 posted on 11/11/2019 9:21:34 PM PST by Bob434
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To: hinckley buzzard

That’s pretty well figured-out, it’s just not being developed aggressively because of the cost issue that this method addresses. Chemical hydrogen storage materials, sorbents, and metal hydrides hare all been pretty well proven to be effective. Nobody’s talking about pumping hydrogen thru pipelines! The secret lies in a distributed production process like this that can be deployed near the point of use, much like the scalable automated on-site nitrogen generating plants sold by Air Products today.


28 posted on 11/11/2019 9:24:31 PM PST by bigbob (Trust Trump. Trust the Plan.)
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To: datura

But water vapor precipitates as snow and rain. That’s why it is less important as a greenhouse gas.


29 posted on 11/11/2019 9:35:24 PM PST by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: BipolarBob

Burning hydrocarbons produces water. More water than carbon dioxide.


30 posted on 11/11/2019 9:40:13 PM PST by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget; rockinqsranch

“The researchers have found that injecting oxygen into the fields raises the temperature and liberates H2, which can then be separated from other gases via specialist filters. Hydrogen is not pre-existing in the reservoirs, but pumping oxygen means that the reaction to form hydrogen can take place. “

un huh.

and where does the pure O2 come from? oh, yeah, hydrolysis which uses expensive ELECTRICITY to split H2O into O2 and H2 ...

thus, once again, we see the dying lying leftist fake stream enemedia promoting pie-in-the-sky pipe dreams that don’t pass the basic high-school physics and chemistry test ...


31 posted on 11/11/2019 9:45:35 PM PST by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: BipolarBob

Stainless exhaust is a thing and they’re cheap these days. It’s a non-issue. Also this would only be for cars with converted internal combustion engines. New cars would have electric drive powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.


32 posted on 11/11/2019 9:48:33 PM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget

Yeah hydrogen!!!

33 posted on 11/11/2019 9:49:37 PM PST by Dogbert41 (Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!)
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To: catnipman

You can create oxygen through other methods. One of the latest is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_concentrator


34 posted on 11/11/2019 9:50:58 PM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
" The researchers have found that injecting oxygen into the fields raises the temperature and liberates H2"

Just wondering if this is some kind of reaction in which oxygen reacts with the hydrocarbon fuels so that hydrogen is released as gas and the oxygen reacts with carbon to form carbon dioxide and heat. Seems like the article is a bit incomplete.
35 posted on 11/11/2019 9:51:22 PM PST by clearcarbon
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To: Dogbert41

You do know that the fire was the very flammable outer shell going up, right? Hydrogen burns clear.


36 posted on 11/11/2019 9:51:43 PM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: catnipman

There are more ways to make O2... electrolysis being but one.

BTW, you don’t know jack, Jack.

Hydrolysis is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water ruptures one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and fragmentation reactions in which water is the nucleophile.

How do you use electricity to create O2 via hydrolysis?

And BTW, Oxygen is obtained on a commercial scale through the liquefaction and distillation of ambient air at air separation plants. A second purification process may be necessary if ultra-high purity levels are required.


37 posted on 11/11/2019 10:08:36 PM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (TRUMP TRAIN !!! Get the hell out of the way if you are not on yet because we don't stop for idiots)
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To: bigbob

It would be better if the hydrogen was extracted on board the automobile and ran into the engine/fuel cell.


38 posted on 11/11/2019 10:18:11 PM PST by jonrick46 (Cultural Marxism is the cult of the Left waiting for the Mothership.)
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To: jonrick46

Wouldn’t it just be easier to burn the gas in the engine? ;-)

Cars are expensive enough as is plus carrying around pure O2 isnt a real good idea when you have a combustion engine. You may unintentionally turn it into a explosive blast furnace if there is a leak.


39 posted on 11/11/2019 10:58:06 PM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (TRUMP TRAIN !!! Get the hell out of the way if you are not on yet because we don't stop for idiots)
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To: Army Air Corps

I guess all the oil that is used to make the h2 is free also. That way, the H2 can be free. It’s wonderful when you are on the right side of histroy. You say utter nonsense and noone bothers to call you out.


40 posted on 11/11/2019 11:06:51 PM PST by ModelBreaker
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