By : Inspenet, December 5, 2022
An investigation has made it possible to determine that a large cavern in Spain could serve as a large hydrogen deposit to facilitate its centralized distribution.
[post_relacionado]This study, carried out by specialists from the Higher Technical School of Mining and Energy Engineers of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) in Spain, supports the geological storage of green hydrogen (hydrogen obtained through clean processes) in the Poza de la diapir. Salt, in Burgos, Spain.
The project addresses the conditioning of the cavern and the design of its main artificial components, ensuring its stability, tightness to stored gas and environmental safety.
The work is based on the production of hydrogen through electrolysis, a chemical process driven in this case with surplus energy from the nearby Páramo de Poza wind farm. “If it is produced by electrolysis, hydrogen is a clean fuel that does not produce greenhouse gases, particles, sulfur oxides or tropospheric ozone, with water vapor being the only emission, which contributes to improving environmental quality and health of the nearby population”, indicates Laura Valle, a researcher at the UPM and one of the authors of the study.
The authors of the study point out that salt caverns are adequate underground storage for pure hydrogen, since they have a good seal and very low permeability, which ensures a minimum loss of hydrogen and a very low risk of contamination with impurities from the environment. .
In short, the project tries to contribute to the energy transition towards a new, more sustainable model. “The variation of solar radiation and the volatile nature of the wind cause the production of renewable energy to fluctuate, preventing a continuous supply,” explain the authors of the study. The storage of this type of energy would make it possible to compensate for these imbalances, and this is where hydrogen technology acquires special relevance.
“Hydrogen will boost the use of renewable energy since it is capable of storing its surplus until it is required, providing flexibility to the electrical system, a fundamental aspect to achieve a high degree of penetration of renewable generation,” concludes the UPM researcher.
The study is entitled “Green Hydrogen Storage in an Underground Cavern: A Case Study in Salt Diapir of Spain”. And it has been published in the academic journal Applied Sciences.
Source NCYT Amazings : https://noticiasdelaciencia.com/art/45541/proyecto-para-almacenar-hidrogeno-en-una-enorme-caverna
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