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russotto · 07-17-2001, 12:22 PM

Pressurized hydrogen is flammable, but not nearly so dangerous as gasoline. Worst you'll get is a hydrogen flare if there's a leak in the pressurized part of the system and it ignites. Otherwise the fuel simply escapes into the atmosphere. No fuel spattered all over the place.

ISTR that most of the deaths in the Hindenburg were from the crash, not the fire itself.

But I still don't see the big advantage to H2. It's just a fossil fuel, one step removed -- it's most often made by stripping the hydrogen from natural gas (producing CO2). (electrolysis of water is too energy intensive to be practical, and besides, it becomes fossil fuel TWO steps removed). And burning it in air produces not pure H2O, but H2O + NOx, so you haven't eliminated your mobile pollution problem either.

07-17-2001, 12:22 PM	#3
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	H2 is not so dangerous Pressurized hydrogen is flammable, but not nearly so dangerous as gasoline. Worst you'll get is a hydrogen flare if there's a leak in the pressurized part of the system and it ignites. Otherwise the fuel simply escapes into the atmosphere. No fuel spattered all over the place. ISTR that most of the deaths in the Hindenburg were from the crash, not the fire itself. But I still don't see the big advantage to H2. It's just a fossil fuel, one step removed -- it's most often made by stripping the hydrogen from natural gas (producing CO2). (electrolysis of water is too energy intensive to be practical, and besides, it becomes fossil fuel TWO steps removed). And burning it in air produces not pure H2O, but H2O + NOx, so you haven't eliminated your mobile pollution problem either.