The Facts of Hydrogen Safety
As the lightest and smallest element in the universe, confining hydrogen is very difficult. Hydrogen is much lighter than air and rises at a speed of almost 20 meters per second — two times faster than helium and six times faster than natural gas — which means that when released, it rises and disperses quickly.
Combustion cannot occur in a tank or any contained location that contains only hydrogen. An oxidizer, such as oxygen, must be present.
Hydrogen is odorless, colorless, and tasteless and therefore undetectable by human senses. For these and other reasons, industry designs systems with ventilation and leak detection. Natural gas is also odorless, colorless, and tasteless, but industry adds a sulfur-containing odorant so people can detect it. These odorants are not used with hydrogen, however, because there is no known odorant light enough to “travel with” hydrogen, and at the same dispersion rate. Current odorants also contaminate fuel cells, a popular hydrogen application.
Hydrogen burns very quickly. Under optimal combustion conditions, the energy required to initiate hydrogen combustion is significantly lower than that required for other common fuels, such as natural gas or gasoline. At low concentrations of hydrogen fuel in air, the energy required to initiate combustion is similar to that of other fuels. Hydrogen flames have low radiant heat. A hydrogen fire has significantly less radiant heat when compared to a hydrocarbon fire. Since low levels of heat are emitted near a hydrogen flame (the flame itself is just as hot), the risk of secondary fires is lower. With the exception of oxygen, any gas can cause asphyxiation in high enough concentrations. In most scenarios, however, because hydrogen rises and disperses so rapidly, it is unlikely to be confined where asphyxiation might otherwise occur. Hydrogen is non-toxic and non-poisonous. It will not contaminate groundwater (it’s a gas under normal atmospheric conditions), and a release of hydrogen is not known to contribute to atmospheric pollution or water pollution.
More Info About Hydrogen:
Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source, meaning that it stores and delivers energy in a usable form. Hydrogen can be produced using abundant and diverse domestic energy resources, including fossil fuels, such as natural gas and coal; renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind, and biomass; and nuclear energy.
Using hydrogen as a form of energy can not only reduce our dependence on imported oil, but also benefit the environment by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants that affect our air quality. The President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative accelerates the research and development of fuel cells and hydrogen production, storage, and delivery infrastructure technologies needed to support hydrogen fuel cells for use in transportation and electricity generation. Under President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, the DOE Hydrogen Program works with industry, academia, national laboratories, and other federal and international agencies to overcome critical technology barriers, address safety issues and facilitate the development of model codes and standards, validate hydrogen fuel cell technologies in real world conditions, and educate key stakeholders who can facilitate the use of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
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