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Air Pollution: in particular the problems addressed by the project concern the emissions of airborne pollutants, and the CO2 and other emissions relevant to the climate. Indeed, the major causes of air pollution are directly concerned with the production and use of fuels in the transport sector.
The main air pollutants are SO2, NOx, CO, ozone, benzene, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, small particulate, lead. Pollutant emissions increased since 1980. The greenhouse effect is influenced by motorway transport to a large extent: transport is the economic sector giving rise to more than 25% of CO2 emissions, and such emissions are growing at the highest rate (+39% between 1990 and 2010 according to the last EEA forecasts). The evaluation of the effects on climate change of human activities is based on key hypothesis on the potential future condition of humanity in terms of population, energy consumption, transport, industries, etc.) while the green house gases concentration is constantly increasing.
The use of hydrogen as a fuel seems to be the modern and inexhaustible energy source, with key features in support of environmental and economic sustainability. The technologies for hydrogen production are well-known and easily available: it can be produced from water, the process is called electrolysis, and passes electricity through water in an ionic transfer device to separate water into its hydrogen and oxygen parts.
Renewable technologies can generate electricity to produce hydrogen from electrolysis with zero greenhouse gas emissions.
This process can be entirely implemented on-site, and thus avoiding transport costs, which are typical of other kind of fuels and allowing a complete planning of the energy resources.
The H2POWER project proposes a new concept about the use of energies for mobility, by introducing a few efficacy elements for reducing the pollutant impacts of the traditional fuels implied in the transport sector.
Here follows the main items introduced by the project in order to reduce the CO2 emissions deriving from the internal combustion of traditional engines:
1) Reduction of 30% of CO2 pollutant emissions coming from combustion processes;
2) Reduction of CO2 emissions coming from petrol, LPG, etc, produced in refineries and of the pollution generated by the fuel transport.
The complete combustion of methane CH4, produces carbon dioxide and water. While in the absence of oxygen may be numerous reaction generating different products, including, carbon monoxide, methanol, etc.
The stoichiometric ratio is: 1vol. of methane + 9,52 vol. of air. In practice the relationships methane: air is about 1:10.
If we analyse in particular the combustion of methane has the reaction of combustion is:
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
Hydrogen + methane combustion equation, we get:
combustion = 1mol of methane (0,022414 m3) + 2 mol. of oxigen.
Therefore we have that for each mole of methane combusted forms one mole of carbon dioxide, whit a mass of about 44g.
Consumption of natural gas buses factor: 0,176 m3/Km or 8,8 mol./Km
Minimum annual mileage = 20.000 Km (about 3600m3)
Therefore we have (8,8mol/km x 44g)=387,2g/km CO2
The bus has the carbon footprint impact of about 7500Kg of CO2/year
Introducing a percentage of hydrogen until to 30% saving will 2.320Kg CO2.
The carbon footprint is reduced by more than 2ton/year.
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