Research Assistant Prairie View A&M University, TX
Abstract Description: In recent years, alternative fuels like electricity and hydrogen have been introduced in the transportation sector to mitigate climate change. Among these alternatives, hydrogen is emerging as a key player in the clean energy transition. Hydrogen stations are crucial to meet the public's demand for hydrogen fuel. This study assesses the environmental impact using SimaPro software and the LTS 2023 method. This study emphasizes the environmental impact of the hydrogen station components present in the refueling station and the hydrogen source infrastructure. Hydrogen station components considered for the analysis are Hydrogen inlet, compressor, dispenser, storage tank, heat exchanger, hydraulic power unit and controls, vent stack, absorption chiller, concrete and canopy. The three hydrogen sources analyzed: biomass gasification (BG), electrolysis (EL), and solar thermochemical (ST) processes. The analysis reveals that the highest contribution to Human Health (DALY) from BG-sourced hydrogen stations comes from the compressor (22.61%) and the storage tank (43.71%). For EL, the compressor (20.35%) and the storage tank (39.34%) are the main contributors, while for ST, the source infrastructure (41.17%) and the storage tank (25.99%) are the largest contributors. In terms of cumulative energy demand (MJ), the maximum contribution for BG is from the canopy (12.92%) and the storage tank (66.34%). For EL, it is the canopy (11.93%) and the storage tank (61.23%), and for ST, it is the source infrastructure (16.14%) and the storage tank (56.59%). Regarding climate change emissions (kg CO2-eq), the highest contribution for BG comes from concrete (15.44%), the absorption chiller (7.67%), and the storage tank (57.96%). For EL, it is concrete (14.40%) and the storage tank (54.06%), while for ST, it is the source infrastructure (27.65%) and the storage tank (42.56%). The study concludes that ST-sourced hydrogen stations have the highest environmental impact, followed by EL-sourced stations, with BG-sourced stations having the least impact. The “storage tank” component has more impact and high cumulative energy demand. This is due to the huge weight of the storage tank. It is suggested for further analysis to try less weight alternative materials in making storage tanks. Policymakers are encouraged to focus on BG-sourced hydrogen stations in the future due to their lower environmental impact.
