Abstract

An increase in human activities and population growth have significantly increased the world’s energy demands. The major source of energy for the world today is from fossil fuels, which are polluting and degrading the environment due to the emission of greenhouse gases. Hydrogen is an identified efficient energy carrier and can be obtained through renewable and non-renewable sources. An overview of renewable sources of hydrogen production which focuses on water splitting (electrolysis, thermolysis, and photolysis) and biomass (biological and thermochemical) mechanisms is presented in this study. The limitations associated with these mechanisms are discussed. The study also looks at some critical factors that hinders the scaling up of the hydrogen economy globally. Key among these factors are issues relating to the absence of a value chain for clean hydrogen, storage and transportation of hydrogen, high cost of production, lack of international standards, and risks in investment. The study ends with some future research recommendations for researchers to help enhance the technical efficiencies of some production mechanisms, and policy direction to governments to reduce investment risks in the sector to scale the hydrogen economy up.

Highlights

  • The increase in energy demand globally has led to an increase in discussions around clean, cheap, and sustainable sources of energy generation [1,2,3]

  • Hydrogen is identified as an energy carrier that has the potential to help the world minimize its levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, which are occasioned by the reliance on fossil fuels for the generation of energy

  • As presented in this study, apart from the presence of the technical challenges associated with the various technologies, there are other factors which serve as hinderances to the scaling up of the hydrogen economy

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Summary

A Critical Review of Renewable Hydrogen Production Methods

Ephraim Bonah Agyekum 1,* , Christabel Nutakor 2 , Ahmed M.

Introduction
Paths to Hydrogen Production
Objective of Study
Water Splitting
Electrolysis of Water for the Production of Hydrogen
Thermolysis of Water for Production of Hydrogen
Photolysis of Water for Hydrogen Production
Some Limitations Associated with Water Electrolysis Technologies
Biomass Process of Hydrogen Production
Biological Production Dark Fermentation Process of Hydrogen Production
Pyruvate: ferredoxin oxido reductase
Thermochemical Production
H10 O5
Role of Hydrogen in the World’s Future Energy Generation and Decarbonization
Challenges to the Scaling-Up of Hydrogen Production
Possible Strategies to Scale Up Production
Conclusions and Future Research
Findings
Methods
Full Text
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