Consider the following heavy industries:
1. Fertilizer plants
2. Oil refineries
3. Steel plants
Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing how many of the above industries?
Only one
Only two
All three
None
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2023
Fertilizer plants: Production of ammonia (NH3), a primary component of fertilizers, currently uses hydrogen derived mainly from natural gas (steam methane reforming), a process that emits significant CO2. Green hydrogen can directly replace this, making ammonia production carbon-free.
Oil refineries: Hydrogen is used in refining processes like hydrocracking and hydrotreating to remove impurities and upgrade fuel products. Replacing grey hydrogen with green hydrogen is a direct pathway to reduce emissions in refineries.
Steel plants: Traditional steel production is a major source of CO2 emissions due to the use of coal as a reducing agent. Green hydrogen can be used as a reducing agent in direct reduced iron (DRI) processes, replacing coal and enabling the production of “green steel” with significantly lower emissions.