PH Series

These series employ a platinum catalyst in the anode electrode area which recombines any stray oxygen before it can contaminate the hydrogen stream. The involving of platinum catalyst is the best method to get high purity of hydrogen production (>99.9995% consistent purity). The generators require only distilled water (example : sea-water destilation) or de-mineralized water and electricity to operate, making these systems safe and easy to maintain. The Hydrogen Generators feature sophisticated control and dual redundancy safety systems, with LED status indicators and audible alarms with automatic shutdown. Complies with all current OSHA and European regulations. Please contact QUADREX CORPORATION for more detail information.

All Peak PH Series Hydrogen Generator require
deionized water for correct operation: <1.0 uS/cm/>1.0M Ohm-cm

Parker Series

These series use proton exchange membrane to produce Ultra High Pure (UHP) hydrogen from continuous deionized water feeder. A built-in sensing circuit shuts to prevent a hydrogen leaking also embedded on these series. For safety standard, Parker Series has certified from NFPA, OSHA-1910.103, CSA, UL and IEC 1010. Please contact CHROMTECH for request quotation and more information.

There are various of conventional hydrogen production, which are :

Fossil Fuel Reforming

Steam Reforming (SR) – natural gas reacts with steam at 3 – 25 bar pressure (1 bar = 14.5 psi) and temperature 700 – 1,000°C (endothermic/heat absorbing reaction) with the help of a catalyst, thus producing the synthetic gas (syngas). Syngas is a mixture of hydrogen with carbon monoxide.

Then by water-gas shift reaction, syngas react with steam to turn CO into CO₂ and release more of hydrogen and heat at temperature 200 – 500 °C (exothermic/heat releasing). After that, hydrogen-rich gas undergoes the purification, and carbon dioxide and trace amount of carbon monoxide removed, usually called by pressure-swing adsorption.

C_nH_m + n H₂O → n CO + (m/2+n) H₂ (endothermic at 700 – 1,000 °C)

CO + H₂O → CO₂ + H₂ (exothermic at 200 – 500 °C)

According to DOE, there are about half of world hydrogen production used this method. But when we look about the cost of hydrogen fuel, this method still very expensive. The cost of producting and delivering hydrogen from small scale of natural gas reformer to fuel cell application could reach high as $40 per million BTU with current technology – about four times more expensive with gasoline at the pump untaxed (DOE, October 28, 2005).

Coal Gasification – coal reacting with oxygen and steam at high pressure and high temperature to form a syngas. Then syngas enter the water-gas shift reaction to release more hydrogen dan reducing the carbon monoxide.

Partial Oxidation (POX) – this reaction perform by limited amount of oxygen that make incomplete heavy hydrocarbons (diesel, oil) oxidation. This reaction release primarily hydrogen and carbon monoxide, nitrogen (when oxygen taken from the air) and small of carbon dioxide. POX is exothermal reaction and typically much faster reaction than SR and just requires a smal reactor vessel. But POX release hydrogen product less than SR with same amount of raw material.

C_nH_m + (n/2) O₂ → n CO + (m/2) H₂ (exothermic)

CO + H₂O → CO₂ + H₂ (exothermic at 200 – 500 °C)

Autothermal Reforming (ATR) – combination of SR and POX that could achieve higher efficiencies at high temperature and can applied to produce hydrogen from methanol.

Biomass Gasification

Reforming gasified biomass with rich oxygen as gasifying agent can produce 12% – 17% hydrogen by weight of the dry biomass according to some sources. This method has high efficiency, but limited by the lower energy content of biomass compared to fossil fuels. This is the general chemical reaction for bio-oil steam reforming :

C_nH_mO_k + (2n – k) H₂O → n CO₂ + (2n + m/2 – k) H₂

The mainly technical problems that faced by biomass gasification is have much higher concetrations of Chlorine, Nitrogen, Sulphur, and Alkalis – kinds of air pollutant.

Advantage Hydrogen Production via Steam Reforming

Compare with Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles that using gasoline, ICE vehicles powered by hydrogen from reforming of natural gas could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% (EERE of U.S. Department of Energy). EERE also write, in order for hydrogen economy enter transportation market, hydrogen need to be available at $2 – $3 per gge (untaxed).

We can see that the daily using of electric power limited on static application, like lighting, industrial, housing, etc. There are big barier when we force using electric power on dinamic applications, we need complicated system and highly cost investment. Example: electric power as energy input in electric train system. We need build a long electrical network and amplified power after pass away for long distant, and also we should consider the safety of electrical network for people.

Nowdays, many scientists and engineers consider new way to store electric or other power in a material which have high power density and easy take to everywhere. Then we choose hydrogen because has promise on highly energy conversion and environmental-friendly. But hydrogen not available naturally, we should produce hydrogen. For widely hydrogen production we have to use water as raw-material, then by electrolysis process we will could get purely hydrogen. On electrolysis process, we need thermal and electric power as energy input. Then energy input will store in hydrogen.

Hydrogen that been produced will used as fuel on fuel cell system. Fuel cell is engine to convert chemical energy which bounded in hydrogen into electric power. Fuel cell system have high efficiency (twince of internal combustion engine) and very safe for environment because not produce CO2, just energy and watervapour.

We can conclude that hydrogen is similar with electric power. But hydrogen more better than electric power, because it can bring to everywhere, likely gasoline or diesel oil. Very flexible!

By using hydrogen as fuel, we could generate electric power on remote area and don’t need grid connection to the national power generation. Build a locally power generation more feasible than build grid connection to remote area or other islands.

Storing energy in hydrogen could also solve the mainly problem of renewable energy power plant generation. Renewable energy have low power density and always fluctuate, this the reason why renewable energy can not used for primary energy generation on the world.

Beside that, storing electric power in the hydrogen better than on the battery because when you charger the bettery need long time, storing energy in battery also have big possibility on energy losses and battery lifetime is shortly.

Carbon dioxide that release from burning fossil fuel for heat generation will make green house effect. Ok, green house effect for some limited range is very important for earth, that is to take earth temperature balance between noon and night. But when the concentration of carbon dioxide at the atmosphere increasing rapidly, its danger!

Why? Because when there are big concetration of carbon dioxide at the atmosphere, it will prevent infrared radiation leave from earth. We know that infrared radiation is energy which always keep our earth warm. But when there are big amount of infrared radiation into earth surface, its will heat the earth surface. Then earth temperature increase and its phenomena named by global warming. There are many bad impact of global warming, example : increasing sea level, most of little island lost, ice melt, storm, climate change, worst dryness, etc. I believe that you are now feel the climate change because global warming impact.

When we increase or continue burn fossil fuel for next decade, I believe our environment become more worst. We have to find other alternative solution which can save our earth. There are some potential solution which I offer for you, such as

1. Effort world using renewable energy technology
2. Increase system efficiency
3. Develop the new generation of nuclear power

Ok, renewable energy (like wind, solar, hydro, wave, etc) will always available but its energy potential always unbalance or fluctuate, so for near decade we can’t use renewable energy as primary energy to fulfill our energy need.

About system efficiency, ok we need perform our electric device more efficient, example : lamp. On bohlam, electric power convert to light and thermal power, but thermal power just become a thermal waste. Now, world lamp producer success build lamp type which just generate less thermal power, so almost of electric power can convert to light power.

When there no gasoline and diesel oil, there are problem on transportation system because almost our transportation system (bus, taxi, motorcycle, train, ship) depend more on this type fossil fuel. So how we can use our transportation system to bring us to somewhere place? Ok for lands transportation, we can use electric train and electric bus. The system working like this: stationary power generation generate electric power which will distribute to transportation system by using electric line. Electric motor on the inside of train or bus connected to electric line. Simple explanation I guess. By use this solution there are other problem, we need complicated electric network to move all of our transportation system. And its impossible to build land transportation system which reach all of location. You can imagine that you can’t go to remote area because there no electric line distribution.

Let me bring you to look the hydrogen power potential. Hydrogen very flexible, we can use it as liquid fuel for power generation or our transportation system. The physical of hydrogen is like gasoline, diesel oil, natural gas, that are have liquid phase and gas phase. We can bring the hydrogen to every where that we want by using storage. Hydrogen very safe for environmental because when we using hydrogen as fuel on fuel cell system, its just release electric power, thermal power and water vapour. There no carbon dioxide that release from fuel cell system. Fuel cell which using hydrogen as primary fuel will have highest efficience, twice of internal combustion. The newly info said that world trend of using hydrogen always increase rapidly.

But we have some problem when using hydrogen as fuel on fuel cell system. We have no pure hydrogen resources. We have to produce from widely raw material that available on the earth. We looking foward to water. There are big potential hydrogen resource that bundle on water. All of we know that almost 75% world consist from water. To get hydrogen from water, we have to break molecular bound of water. We can use electrolysis or heated water until 4000 K.

Ok, we will use electrolysis process. Electrolysis need electric power. Where we can get electric power? If we use from conventional power generation which use fossil fuel, it useless way. Because conventional power generation has release carbon dioxide and the total efficiency will drop until 20%. When we use electric power from renewable energy sources, its can be considered. This way not release carbon dioxide and total efficiency higher than conventional power generation.

To increase the electrolysis process efficiency, we can add thermal power as energy input. We can use nuclear power to generate electric power and thermal power. This system design can be reach 50% total efficiency.

I looking foward that after fossil age finish we will move to nuclear age. The nuclear age will collaborate with hydrogen fuel to supply our energy demand and save our environmental. When fission process on nuclear spend off, we will continue to use fusion process on nuclear age. With fusion, we will have unlimited energy resources.