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Large Source Of Hydrogen Gas May Lie Near Slow-Spreading Tectonic Plates Under The Ocean (sciencedaily.com)
New submitter pyroclast writes: According to research from Duke University, rocks forming from fast-spreading tectonic plates create hydrogen gas in large quantities. The tectonic alternation of hydrolyzed ultramafic rock to serpentinized rock has the byproduct of hydrogen gas. Science Daily reports: "'A major benefit of this work is that it provides a testable, tectonic-based model for not only identifying where free hydrogen gas may be forming beneath the seafloor, but also at what rate, and what the total scale of this formation may be, which on a global basis is massive,' said [researcher] Lincoln F. Pratson[.] 'Most scientists previously thought all hydrogen production occurs only at slow-spreading lithosphere, because this is where most serpentinized rocks are found. Although faster-spreading lithosphere contains smaller quantities of this rock, our analysis suggests the amount of H2 produced there might still be large,' [researcher Stacy] Worman said. [S]cientists need to understand where the gas goes after it's produced. 'Maybe microbes are eating it, or maybe it's accumulating in reservoirs under the seafloor. We still don't know,' Worman said. 'Of course, such accumulations would have to be quite significant to make hydrogen gas produced by serpentinization a viable fuel source.'"
Donald Trump's open mouth!
Oh, the huge manatee!
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Is there enough that, if we tap it as a fuel source, we could use up all this pesky oxygen in the air?
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
I'm no expert but surely if there's a load of gas there, and we take the gas out, tectonic plates aren't going to work properly. Sure we get rid of earthquakes and volcanoes, but what about how fertile the soil is around a volcano? or how reliant some countries (I'm looking at you Iceland) are on geothermal energy.Not to mention the whole "Well we're not running out of fossil fuels, best not bother looking for safer energy sources.
Like TFS says, these hydrogen deposits aren't viable as a fuel source. We'd be better off harvesting it from space. Instead of sending more useless probes to get data from Jupiter's atmosphere, which is pointless, have it collect hydrogen and bring it back to Earth. Unlike the rest of the space program, this would actually be useful.
I wonder if this remotely increases the likelyhood of the (discredited, I know) theory that oil is made in some sort of self-replenishing way?
I know it's widely considered to be complete nonsense, but anybody have any idea if this could increase the chances of it being true?
( Just speculating )
In unrelated news: Biotech Scientists Find Chemical-Free Way To Extend Milk's Shelf Life For Up To 3 Weeks
Here's the link to the Star Trek article below this one. It seems the editor forgot to add it: Man builds 15 million star trek themed home theater. Perhaps he used the theater's scanners to detect the gas.
'Of course, such accumulations would have to be quite significant to make hydrogen gas produced by serpentinization a viable fuel source.'
If it is on the mid atlantic ridge it will be very difficult to drill for most of the ridge is really deep far deeper than the continental shelf. Now if the Hydrogen is near one of the Islands on the mid atlantic ridge then it could be reachable.
Then you have the problem of transport. You can liquify it but it is will still have a very low energy density plus people will tend to freak out over giant tankers filled with Hydrogen. Then you have hydrogen embrittlement to deal with and that makes hydrogen transportation a real pain. Over all if it is not at an island it will be too deep to use.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
H3O?
But surely this has something to do with milk, right???
Yeah, but even if they get it free, they'll charge good money for it.
Oh, wait ...
Why would you need to get hydrogen from so deep?
Plain electrolysis, 46 kWh per kg of H2 and $0.04/kWh surplus wind electricity results in 46 * 0.04 = $1.84/kg. Not much different from wholesale gas price per gallon, but can be used more efficiently and conveniently compared to combustion. The problem is scaling up hydrogen distribution, which is too expensive at current low scale, and not production.
For the U.S., 95% of its hydrogen is from a process from natural gas reforming http://energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-production-natural-gas-reforming using high temperature steam, a lot of work and resources. The DOE see a future of hydrogen powered vehicles or fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and a move away from greenhouse gas sources (see 'Why is this Pathway Being Considered?' section in the link).
DOE interest=big deal
It's increasingly hard to deny his theories.
"Consensus" in science is _always_ a political construct.
Maybe it becomes Hydrocarbons via some route.....i.e. maybe the Russians are right about abiotic creation of OIL.....
2LT Dennis Morrisseau USArmy Officer [Vietnam era] ANTI-WAR, retired.
POB 177 W Pawlet, VT 05775 802 645 9727 dmorso1@netzero.net