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Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen (if one considers water not as an emission) or used in a contained cell also capable of 'reversing' the reaction if needed. It often uses electrochemical cells, or combustion in internal engines, to power vehicles and electric devices. It is also used in the propulsion of spacecraft and might potentially be mass-produced and commercialized for passenger vehicles and aircraft. Hydrogen lies in the first group and first period in the periodic table, i.e. it is the first element on the periodic table, making it the lightest element. Since hydrogen gas is so light, it rises in the atmosphere and is therefore rarely found in its pure form, H2.〔Altork, L.N. & Busby, J. R. (2010 Oct). Hydrogen fuel cells: part of the solution. Technology & Engineering Teacher, 70(2), 22-27.〕 In a flame of pure hydrogen gas, burning in air, the hydrogen (H2) reacts with oxygen (O2) to form water (H2O) and releases energy. :2H2(g) + O2(g) → 2H2O(g) (If carried out in atmospheric air instead of pure oxygen (as is usually the case), hydrogen combustion may yield small amounts of nitrogen oxides, along with the water vapor.) The energy released enables hydrogen to act as a fuel. In an electrochemical cell, that energy can be used with relatively high efficiency. If it simply is used for heat, the usual thermodynamics limits on the thermal efficiency apply. Since there is very little free hydrogen gas, hydrogen is in practice only an energy carrier, like electricity, not an energy resource.〔Florida Solar Energy Center. (n.d.). Hydrogen Basics. Retrieved from: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/hydrogen/basics/index.htm〕 Hydrogen gas must be produced, and that production always requires more energy than can be retrieved from the gas as a fuel later on. This is a limitation of the physical law of the conservation of energy. Hydrogen production induces environmental impacts.〔 ==Production== (詳細はelectrolysis and steam-methane reforming process. In electrolysis, electricity is run through water to separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. This method can use wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, fossil fuels, biomass, nuclear, and many other energy sources.〔 Obtaining hydrogen from this process is being studied as a viable way to produce it domestically at a low cost. Steam-methane reforming, the current leading technology for producing hydrogen in large quantities,〔U.S. Department of Energy. (2007 Feb). Potential for hydrogen production from key renewable resources in the United States. (Technical Report NREL/TP-640-41134). National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, CO: Milbrandt, A. & Mann, M. Retrieved from: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs/41134.pdf〕 extracts the hydrogen from methane. However, this reaction causes a side production of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which are greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hydrogen fuel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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