Posted on 11/15/2024 5:14:20 AM PST by Red Badger
Researchers are examining the Midcontinent Rift’s potential to produce clean hydrogen, a renewable energy source with low emissions. This work could advance the hydrogen economy as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Researchers in Nebraska are exploring the Midcontinent Rift’s potential to produce renewable, carbon-free hydrogen, possibly meeting energy needs for centuries.
Around 1.1 billion years ago, the North American continent almost split in two, leaving a 1,200-mile stretch of volcanic rock called the Midcontinent Rift. This geological feature holds the potential to produce substantial amounts of natural hydrogen, which could provide a vast supply of clean energy.
University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers are studying the rift — which runs from beneath Lake Superior through parts of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas — to determine how best to access that hydrogen.
Hydrogen is potentially a key player in the effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. It produces no carbon emissions and, unlike oil and gas that can take millions of years to generate from organic deposits, it is constantly renewing underground when water interacts with the volcanic rock.
But there is much to learn.
“Our understanding of processes governing the production, migration, and accumulation of evasive natural hydrogen in the continental deep subsurface is still in its infancy,” said Seunghee Kim, Charles J. Vranek Associate Professor of civil engineering and one of the project’s principal investigators.
Testing the Rift’s Viability
To test the viability of hydrogen production in the rift, a test well was drilled in Nebraska five years ago. So far, the data is promising. Scientists believe it is possible the geomechanical and biogeochemical conditions in the rift limit the loss and consumption of this naturally generated hydrogen, which could leave trapped hydrogen “at an economically meaningful scale in the mid-continent subsurface.”
Hyun-Seob Song (left), associate professor of biological systems engineering and food science and technology; Karrie Weber (center), professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences and biological sciences; and Seunghee Kim, associate professor of civil engineering, are studying hydrogen found in the Midcontinent Rift as a potential energy source. Credit: Nick Kumpula | Research and Innovation
The Midcontinent Rift is estimated to be 3,000 to 5,000 feet underground.
“It could be deep enough to be stored but shallow enough that we can access it,” said Karrie Weber, professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences and biological sciences and another project investigator. “The geology is in our favor.”The U.S. Geological Survey estimates between tens of millions and tens of billions of megatons of hydrogen are in Earth’s crust. But much of that would be inaccessible to humans because it is either too deep or too far offshore, or present in amounts too small to exploit. That is what makes sites like the Midcontinent Rift so important. Other subsurface rifts in the world — located in France, Germany, Russia, and the African continent — could also produce hydrogen, Kim said.
Global Implications for Hydrogen Energy
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there might be enough accessible natural hydrogen under the Earth’s surface to meet global energy needs for thousands of years.
Kim said the Nebraska team will explore several questions surrounding hydrogen flow and seepage from the subsurface to the surface; the feasibility of storing hydrogen naturally or in engineered storage systems; how hydrogen reacts with existing fluids and rock minerals in the subsurface; and how fast and how much hydrogen could be consumed by microorganisms.
Kim is approaching the questions from a civil engineering perspective, while Weber and another co-principal investigator, Hyun-Seob Song, are exploring the biogeochemical and microbiology implications.
“This has not been well-studied so far,” said Song, associate professor of biological systems engineering and food science and technology. “We aim to predict the microbiomes’ behavior at this subsurface level.”
Song will develop computational modeling tools to integrate and assess that data that Weber provides.
The project is funded by a five-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE) initiative. It is one of 19 projects funded this year.
The research builds on previous work funded by the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research.
Weber said the university’s role in this research is another instance of the state’s potential leadership in what is called “the hydrogen economy,” which refers to the role hydrogen could have in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and serving as a clean energy source.
“Then and only then will I support these Green initiative.”
If the hydrogen is there, it is not part of the green initiative. Hydrogen as an alternative fuel has been pursued for decades.
From BRAVE AI:
Hydrogen Embrittlement Solution?
Based on the provided search results, hydrogen embrittlement (HE) remains a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that has not been fully “solved.” While the essential facts about HE have been known since the 19th century, the mechanisms by which hydrogen causes embrittlement in steels are still not comprehensively understood and continue to be explored and studied.
Challenges and Open Questions
Mechanisms of HE:
The exact mechanisms by which hydrogen causes embrittlement in steels are still not fully understood, and multiple micro-mechanisms are thought to contribute to the process.
Material Susceptibility: Different materials exhibit varying degrees of susceptibility to HE, and predicting which materials will be affected is still a challenge.
Environmental Factors:
Environmental factors such as temperature, strain rate, and hydrogen concentration all influence the likelihood and severity of HE, but a complete understanding of these interactions is still lacking.
Prevention and Mitigation:
While some strategies for preventing or mitigating HE have been developed, such as controlling hydrogen exposure, using resistant materials, and applying stress relief techniques, more research is needed to develop effective and widely applicable solutions.
Current Research and Development
Researchers are actively working to better understand the mechanisms of HE and develop more effective prevention and mitigation strategies. This includes:
Microstructural hydrogen mapping:
Recent advances in microstructural hydrogen mapping have improved our understanding of hydrogen distribution and diffusion in steels.
Computational modeling:
Computational models are being developed to simulate HE and predict its behavior in different materials and environments.
Materials development:
New materials and coatings are being designed and tested to reduce the susceptibility of materials to HE.
In summary, while significant progress has been made in understanding hydrogen embrittlement, it remains a complex and challenging problem that requires continued research and development to effectively prevent and mitigate its effects.
You are correct, transporting hydrogen is a bitch because of hydrogen embrittlement of steel. However, if truly available in commercial quantities it could be used on site in the generation of electricity and not need much new technology to utilize.
If hydrogen rises on it's own merits I am fine with it.
But that is not what typically happens
It will be subsidized and other fuels out of favor will be restricted.
Considering the obstacles to using hydrogen (containers, BTU/lbs and transportation) in transportation I can not see a way for that to occur.
Yes it could be used locally to produce cheap electricity and could be the root for local industry expansion.
Converting water vapor to water is a simple condensation matter. This would be easy for power plants and factories.
But then, what do you do with the thousands of gallons of water? Takes infrastructure.
So that’s what the aliens want? Who knew. Let’s sell it to them. With Tariffs of course. Interstellar Tarrifs. It’s going to be beautiful.
That’s why I suggested building those power plants in areas that use irrigation systems (e.g., Nebraska, Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valleys in CA). Distribution networks are in place in those places.
Due to its small size it can get into the crystal lattice of steel. It weakens the bonds between the crystals of the lattice and thus weakens it and makes it brittle. This was a problem in drilling wells in the oilfield. We would add a hydrogen scavenger to the drilling fluid, "Spalarite" to solve the problem. Transporting hydrogen in pipelines great distances is a bitch. It requires special metallurgy for this.
-PJ
I forgot to add I have absolutely no problem with utilizing hydrogen if it is cost competitive and I hope it is. Relative to CO2 it is plant food and by geologic standards we are close to an extinction event due to low CO2 levels. In the past great beast roamed the earth due to CO2 levels multiple times greater than today due to abundant food. CO2 is plant food damn it.
In the past we have had multiple Ice Ages and VERY BRIEF interludes between such which we now enjoy today and Long before man walked the earth. Global warming is not by man and it is natural cycles of the earth. It is a function of solar system orbital dynamics.
Pray for global warming as life flourishes. Ice Ages kill life. Oddly by Geologic history we are probably near the end of our brief interlude before the next Ice Age.
“ Wasn’t the Hindenburg hydrogen powered?”
As far as I know it used hydrogen to float, not for power.
Like old water, new water eventually flows to the sea, causing rising sea levels. Burning hydrogen consumes oxygen out of the atmosphere. Not only will more people drown, but slowly suffocate as well. But that will reduce man-made climate change.
Besides the issue of HE, there is also the issue of leaks. H2 is a really small molecule, it really wants to leak. From a practical standpoint, this has been more than a bit of an issue. Hydrogen leaks are bad!
The Hindenburg used Daimler-Benz V-16 diesels for propulsion.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg
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