GE and BP team up to create hydrogen fueled power plants
General Electric and British petroleum are teaming up to build new hydrogen-fueled power generating plants. The plan is to use a gasification technology developed by GE to produce a hydrogen rich syngas from fossil fuel feedstocks. The separation process would also produce carbon dioxide which would be captured and sequestered in underground geological formations. This reverses the process that happens with most carbon sequestration projects which capture the carbon from the exhaust stream.The GE process would start with either petroleum coke or bituminous coal and capture ninety percent of the carbon in the original fuel. The hydrogen gas would then be burned in the power plant to produce 500MW of electricity. The first two of five plants are planned for Carson, California and in Western Australia.
[Source: General Electric and BP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jenny 8:59AM (5/28/2007)
hydrogen will be a better alternative to petrol since it is widely available and quite cheaper when compared (price will reduce gradually when technology develops0
regards
Jenny
http://www.spaml.com
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TX CHL Instructor 10:29AM (5/28/2007)
"..to produce a hydrogen rich syngas from fossil fuel feedstocks."
In other words, it isn't 'green'. It's basically 2nd-hand FOSSIL FUEL. Note that BP is a FOSSIL FUEL company. And no, hydrogen is NOT a better alternative to anything.
"The GE process would start with either petroleum coke or bituminous coal..."
For those of you who didn't pay attention in chemistry class, there is very little hydrogen in in coal. And the coking process drives off most of what hydrogen is in coal.
The only really good way to sequester carbon is using plant life.
It is well past time to abandon the idiocy of the so-called "hydrogen economy".
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Joseph 2:26PM (5/28/2007)
Wouldn't it be more efficient to just use the fossil-fuel in the first place?
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Chris M 3:55AM (5/29/2007)
I suspect that they will eventually abandon making H2 out of coal and steam, and use the coal directly in high temperature molten carbonate fuel cells. That would be simpler, less expensive, and more efficient.
Some high temperature solid oxide fuel cells are now being run directy with natural gas, bypassing the energy wasteful "reforming" of H2.
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