Emissions: From Production

Emissions from Blue
Hydrogen
Production
Prepared by
Rudresh prajapati
CH123 (ID- 19CHUBS094)
Hydrogen & it’s Production Techniques
● Green Hydrogen- By electrolysis of water
● Brown / Black Hydrogen- By Gasification of coal
● Gray hydrogen- By Steam Methane Reforming (involves

bombardment of Natural Gas with high pressure steam to force
methane to split into carbon dioxide and water)
● Blue Hydrogen- Same as Gray Hydrogen production but it

includes carbon capture.
THE HYDROGEN HYPE
• Hydrogen has the potential to play a key role in decarbonizing energy

systems.
• This is too particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry, shipping,

and aviation, where electrification may not be practical or feasible.
Why Blue Hydrogen?
• Low carbon fuel for generating electricity and storing energy, thereby
powering cars, trucks, trains, and residential heating in extremely cold
climates.
• CO2 is captured & stored permanently underground.
• Result: Low carbon hydrogen producing no CO2, instead it emits

methane.
● Existing infrastructure: Blue hydrogen can be produced using the existing natural
gas infrastructure, which makes it easier to scale up production quickly.
● Reliability: Blue hydrogen is a reliable source of energy because it can be

produced on demand, which is especially important for applications like industrial
processes and transportation.
● Cost: Blue hydrogen is generally less expensive to produce than green

hydrogen. The production process is well-established and can be scaled up
quickly.
SMR Process
• SMR is currently the most common method of producing hydrogen gas,
accounting for around 95% of global hydrogen production.
• It is not a completely sustainable process as it relies on natural gas, fossil fuels,

and produces greenhouse gas emissions during the process.
The process typically involves four stages:
1. heating the natural gas and steam to high temperatures,

2. reacting the natural gas and steam in the presence of a catalyst to produce
hydrogen gas,
3. cooling and purifying the resulting gas mixture, and
4. separating the hydrogen gas from the other gases.
Countries producing Blue Hydrogen
● USA
● CANADA
● NETHERLANDS
● AUSTRALIA
● NORWAY
● SOUTH KOREA
● JAPAN
● UK
Blue Hydrogen in India
• India is currently exploring the potential of blue hydrogen.
• Government has set a target of achieving 450 gigawatts of

renewable energy capacity by 2030.
• It will be important for any blue hydrogen projects in India to

prioritize sustainability, minimize GHG emissions, and address
potential environmental and social impacts.
HYDROGEN IN INDIA
● India is currently producing both grey and green hydrogen.
● Grey hydrogen is produced from natural gas through a process called

steam methane reforming, which produces carbon dioxide emissions as a
byproduct.
● Green hydrogen, on the other hand, is produced using renewable energy

sources such as solar and wind power to electrolyze water and produce
hydrogen without any carbon emissions.
Emissions
• These days majority of hydrogen which is produced today is Gray Hydrogen.
• Blue hydrogen produces more GHGs due to fugitive methane emissions from gas
extraction process.
• These emissions has an average emission rate of 3.5% (from a range of 1.54%-
4.3%) with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 20 years.
• Methane has a half life of 12 years but it is 100 times more potent as a GHG than
carbon dioxide.
• However, on a 100 years timescale methane seems to be 23 times more potent
as compared to carbon dioxide.
• Methane is also referred as CO2eq as it has a GWP number of 86, which

means it is 86 times more impactful than CO2.
• Notably, carbon dioxide equivalent (methane) emissions are only 9-12% lower
than gray hydrogen.
• The methane emissions from blue hydrogen production are higher than grey
hydrogen.
• This is because refinery plants tend to utilise readily available supply of
natural gas to provide power for carbon capture process.
• The GHG footprint of blue hydrogen is 20% greater than natural gas and
60% greater than diesel fuel.
• According to International Energy Agency, over 100 years, 1 ton of

methane can be considered to be equivalent to 28 to 36 tonnes of CO2.
EFFICIENCY OF CARBON CAPTURE TECH
● The efficiency of carbon capture technology in blue hydrogen production ranges
from 80% to 95%, depending on the specific technology used.
● The most common method of carbon capture in blue hydrogen production is

post-combustion capture.
● It includes capture of carbon dioxide from the exhaust gases using chemical
solvents or other absorption materials.
HOWARTH & JACOBSON ON BLUE
HYDROGEN
The research paper (citation) by Howarth and Jacobson published in 2021 on
blue hydrogen argues that blue hydrogen is not a clean energy source and may
be worse for the climate than natural gas because:
● Blue hydrogen still relies on natural gas as a feedstock, which contributes to

GHG emissions.
● Carbon capture and storage technology is not effective enough to capture all
the emissions generated during blue hydrogen production.
● Blue hydrogen may actually emit more GHGs than natural gas due to
methane leakage during natural gas extraction and transport.
Why NOT Green Hydrogen
● Because it currently faces some
challenges that make it more difficult to
scale up quickly.
● Primary challenges is the high cost of

producing green hydrogen using
renewable energy sources such as wind
and solar power.
● Electrolysis, the process used to produce

green hydrogen, requires a significant
amount of electricity, which can be
expensive to produce using renewable
sources.

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Emissions from Blue

● Brown / Black Hydrogen- By Gasification of coal

● Gray hydrogen- By Steam Methane Reforming (involves

● Blue Hydrogen- Same as Gray Hydrogen production but it

• Hydrogen has the potential to play a key role in decarbonizing energy

• This is too particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry, shipping,

• CO2 is captured & stored permanently underground.

• Result: Low carbon hydrogen producing no CO2, instead it emits

● Reliability: Blue hydrogen is a reliable source of energy because it can be

● Cost: Blue hydrogen is generally less expensive to produce than green

• It is not a completely sustainable process as it relies on natural gas, fossil fuels,

The process typically involves four stages:

1. heating the natural gas and steam to high temperatures,

• India is currently exploring the potential of blue hydrogen.

• Government has set a target of achieving 450 gigawatts of

• It will be important for any blue hydrogen projects in India to

● India is currently producing both grey and green hydrogen.

● Grey hydrogen is produced from natural gas through a process called

● Green hydrogen, on the other hand, is produced using renewable energy

• Methane is also referred as CO2eq as it has a GWP number of 86, which

• According to International Energy Agency, over 100 years, 1 ton of

● The most common method of carbon capture in blue hydrogen production is

● Blue hydrogen still relies on natural gas as a feedstock, which contributes to

● Primary challenges is the high cost of

● Electrolysis, the process used to produce

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