Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources, is a key solution for decarbonizing heavy industries which are difficult to electrify and heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Fertilizer plants: Production of ammonia (NH3), a primary component of fertilizers, currently uses hydrogen derived mainly from natural gas (steam methane reforming), a process that emits significant CO2. Green hydrogen can directly replace this, making ammonia production carbon-free. Oil refineries: Hydrogen is used in refining processes like hydrocracking and hydrotreating to remove impurities and upgrade fuel products. Replacing grey hydrogen with green hydrogen is a direct pathway to reduce emissions in refineries. Steel plants: Traditional steel production is a major source of CO2 emissions due to the use of coal as a reducing agent. Green hydrogen can be used as a reducing agent in direct reduced iron (DRI) processes, replacing coal and enabling the production of "green steel" with significantly lower emissions.
Consider the following heavy industries: 1. Fertilizer plants 2. Oil refineries 3. Steel plants Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing how many of the above industries?
Asked in UPSC IAS 2023 · Topic: Non-Conventional Energy (Hydrogen Energy: Production methods, fuel cells, and applications)
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