Use of conventional and green hydrogen in the chemical industry

Abstract

Currently, hydrogen is predominantly produced from hydrocarbons and used as a feedstock in a variety of industrial chemical processes. It is expected that hydrogen in the future will play a significant role as a clean energy carrier as well as a fuel for mobility. That is mainly because hydrogen burns without emitting greenhouse gases, it can be produced from a variety of primary energy sources, it is easy to store and transport, and last but not least, because hydrogen can efficiently be converted into electricity with fuel cells. Having said that, the production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources plays a major role. It appears plausible that this future role of hydrogen and the associated diversification will have repercussions on the existing industrial gases market, especially the use of “green” hydrogen in industry in order to reduce the “Product Carbon Footprint” of industrial products. This chapter covers the status of hydrogen use in industry. Moreover, the potentials and obstacles in the use of “green” hydrogen are discussed and demand for action for the implementation of this use is deduced.