Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, representing 90% of its composition, and is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s surface; it is found mostly in water, and also in natural gas, petroleum fuels and biomass. Most important for the purpose of its utilization as a fuel on Earth, it is a non-polluting fuel. In fuel cells, hydrogen and oxygen are combined to generate electricity, with water being the sole exhaust. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is already using fuel cells to provide all of the Space Shuttle electric power, and the exhaust water is used for drinking by the crew. If a hydrogen-energy based society can be instituted, it will enable less dependence on petroleum fuels.

The most important obstacles to achieving hydrogen utilization in sufficiently large quantities are (1) the engineering challenges associated with hydrogen production, (2) its cost and (3) the perceived safety aspects associated with hydrogen storage, vehicle refueling and potential vehicle accidents.

Among the three items listed as obstacles, the safety related aspect is the most acute because even if the other two items were resolved, resolution of the third item is mandatory to enable hydrogen utilization. That is, safety perceptions represent the ‘bottleneck’ for hydrogen utilization. The present study initiates the development of a high quality and unchallengeable body of information that will be presented to safety enforcing entities to enable the establishment of regulations and safety codes.

Publications:

1. “Global analysis and parametric dependencies for potential hydrogen-fuel unintended releases”, (K. Harstad and J. Bellan), Combustion and Flame, 144, 89-102, 2005