[lifesaviors] FYI -- Hydrogen-Ozone depletion 3 of 4
- From: "Lion Kuntz" <lionkuntz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lifesaviors@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2003 12:58:21 -0800
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/hydrogen_030613.html
Group: Hydrogen Fuel Cells May Hurt Ozone
By H. Josef Hebert
Associated Press Writer
posted: 10:10 am ET
13 June 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Widespread use of the hydrogen fuel cells that President
Bush has made a centerpiece of his energy plan might not be as environmentally
friendly as many believe.
Scientists say the new technology could lead to greater destruction of the
ozone layer that protects Earth from cancer-causing ultraviolet rays.
Researchers said in a report Thursday saying that if hydrogen replaced fossil
fuels to run everything from cars to power plants, large amounts of hydrogen
would drift into the stratosphere as a result of leakage and indirectly cause
increased depletion of the ozone.
They acknowledged that much is still unknown about the hydrogen cycle and that
technologies could be developed to curtail hydrogen releases, mitigating the
problem. But they say hydrogen's impact on ozone destruction should be
considered when gauging the potential environmental downside of a hydrogen-fuel
economy.
Ever since Bush this year singled out hydrogen development as an energy
priority, the fuel has been the buzzword in energy debates. Congress plans to
pump more than $3 billion into hydrogen research over the next five years in
hopes of putting fuel-cell-powered cars into showrooms by 2020. Industry is
spending billions more to develop fuel cells, although their widespread use is
probably still decades away.
Fossil fuels -- coal, oil or natural gas -- produce chemicals that pollute the
air as well as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. A hydrogen fuel cell, when
making energy, releases only water as a byproduct.
In an article in this week's edition of Science magazine, researchers at the
California Institute of Technology raised the possibility that if hydrogen fuel
replaced fossil fuels entirely, it could be expected that 10 percent to 20
percent of the hydrogen would leak from pipelines, storage facilities,
processing plants and fuel cells in cars and at power plants.
Because hydrogen readily travels skyward, the researchers estimated that its
increased use could lead to as much as a tripling of hydrogen molecules -- both
manmade and from natural sources -- going into the stratosphere, where it would
oxidize and form water.
"This would result in cooling of the lower stratosphere and the disturbance of
ozone chemistry," the researchers wrote. It would mean bigger and
longer-lasting ozone holes in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, where
drops in ozone levels have been recorded over the past 20 years. They estimated
that ozone depletion could be as much as 8 percent.
Nejat Veziroglu, president of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy
and director of the Clean Energy Research Institute at the University of Miami,
expressed skepticism about the Cal Tech findings.
"Leakage will be much less than what they are considering," he said.
An Energy Department spokeswoman, Jeanne Lopatto, said the Cal Tech study will
influence some of the government's fuel cell research, especially in areas of
hydrogen transport and storage. She said the administration "welcomes new
scientific knowledge on the potential effects of hydrogen production, storage
and use."
The loss of some of the Earth's ozone layer is of concern because ozone blocks
much of the sun's ultraviolet light, which over time can lead to skin cancer,
cataracts and other problems in humans.
Ozone depletion has been contained with international treaties banning and
phasing out ozone-killing chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. But the Cal Tech
researchers said huge increases in the concentration of hydrogen in the
stratosphere "could substantially delay the recovery of the ozone layer," even
if a hydrogen economy is still decades away.
John Eiler, an assistant professor of geochemistry at Cal Tech and one of the
article's authors, acknowledged that the concerns raised in the study might
eventually be resolved when more is learned about the hydrogen fuel cycle.
For example, much of the leaking hydrogen might become absorbed in the soil
instead of drifting into the sky, he said. "If soils dominate, a hydrogen
economy might have little effect on the environment. But if the atmosphere is
the big player, the stratospheric cooling and destruction of the ozone ... are
more likely to occur."
Cal Tech scientist Tracey Tromp, another of the authors, said that with
advanced warnings of a problem, a hydrogen energy infrastructure could be
fashioned to allow more control of leaks and reduce the adverse environmental
impact.
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