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Westra IM, Scheeren HA, Stroo FT, van Heuven SMAC, Kers BAM, Peters W, Meijer HAJ. First detection of industrial hydrogen emissions using high precision mobile measurements in ambient air. Sci Rep 2024; 14:24147. [PMID: 39407028 PMCID: PMC11480439 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-76373-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 10/14/2024] [Indexed: 10/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Projections towards 2050 of the global hydrogen (H2) demand indicate an eight-fold increase in present-day hydrogen consumption. Leakage during production, transport, and consumption therefore presents a large potential for increases in the atmospheric hydrogen burden. Although not a greenhouse gas itself, hydrogen has important indirect climate effects, and the Global Warming Potential of H2 is estimated to be 12.8 times that of CO2. Available technologies to detect hydrogen emissions have been targeted at risk mitigation of industrial facilities, while smaller climate-relevant emissions remain undetected. The latter requires measurement capacity at the parts-per-billion level (ppb). We developed and demonstrated an effective method to detect small hydrogen emissions from industrial installations that combines active AirCore sampling with ppb-precision analysis by gas chromatography. We applied our methodology at a chemical park in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands, where several hydrogen production and storage facilities are concentrated. From a car and an unmanned aerial vehicle, we detected and quantified for the first time small but persistent industrial emissions from leakage and purging across the hydrogen value chain, which include electrolysers, a hydrogen fuelling station, and chemical production plants. Our emission estimates indicate current loss rates up to 4.2% of the estimated production and storage in these facilities. This is sufficiently large to urgently flag the need for monitoring and verification of H2 emissions for the purpose of understanding our climate change trajectory in the 21st century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris M Westra
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands.
| | - Hubertus A Scheeren
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Firmin T Stroo
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Steven M A C van Heuven
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Bert A M Kers
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Peters
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands
- Meteorology and Air Quality, Wageningen University and Research Center, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Harro A J Meijer
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands
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Meredith LK, Commane R, Keenan TF, Klosterman ST, Munger JW, Templer PH, Tang J, Wofsy SC, Prinn RG. Ecosystem fluxes of hydrogen in a mid-latitude forest driven by soil microorganisms and plants. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:906-919. [PMID: 27514856 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Revised: 07/22/2016] [Accepted: 07/29/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen (H2 ) is an atmospheric trace gas with a large microbe-mediated soil sink, yet cycling of this compound throughout ecosystems is poorly understood. Measurements of the sources and sinks of H2 in various ecosystems are sparse, resulting in large uncertainties in the global H2 budget. Constraining the H2 cycle is critical to understanding its role in atmospheric chemistry and climate. We measured H2 fluxes at high frequency in a temperate mixed deciduous forest for 15 months using a tower-based flux-gradient approach to determine both the soil-atmosphere and the net ecosystem flux of H2 . We found that Harvard Forest is a net H2 sink (-1.4 ± 1.1 kg H2 ha-1 ) with soils as the dominant H2 sink (-2.0 ± 1.0 kg H2 ha-1 ) and aboveground canopy emissions as the dominant H2 source (+0.6 ± 0.8 kg H2 ha-1 ). Aboveground emissions of H2 were an unexpected and substantial component of the ecosystem H2 flux, reducing net ecosystem uptake by 30% of that calculated from soil uptake alone. Soil uptake was highly seasonal (July maximum, February minimum), positively correlated with soil temperature and negatively correlated with environmental variables relevant to diffusion into soils (i.e., soil moisture, snow depth, snow density). Soil microbial H2 uptake was correlated with rhizosphere respiration rates (r = 0.8, P < 0.001), and H2 metabolism yielded up to 2% of the energy gleaned by microbes from carbon substrate respiration. Here, we elucidate key processes controlling the biosphere-atmosphere exchange of H2 and raise new questions regarding the role of aboveground biomass as a source of atmospheric H2 and mechanisms linking soil H2 and carbon cycling. Results from this study should be incorporated into modeling efforts to predict the response of the H2 soil sink to changes in anthropogenic H2 emissions and shifting soil conditions with climate and land-use change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K Meredith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Róisín Commane
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Trevor F Keenan
- Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Stephen T Klosterman
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - J William Munger
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Jianwu Tang
- Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA
| | - Steven C Wofsy
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ronald G Prinn
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Rice A, Quay P, Stutsman J, Gammon R, Price H, Jaeglé L. Meridional distribution of molecular hydrogen and its deuterium content in the atmosphere. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009jd012529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Constant P, Poissant L, Villemur R. Tropospheric H(2) budget and the response of its soil uptake under the changing environment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2009; 407:1809-1823. [PMID: 19155054 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.10.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2008] [Revised: 10/06/2008] [Accepted: 10/26/2008] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen (H(2)) is an indirect greenhouse gas present at the trace level in the atmosphere. So far, the sum of its sources and sinks is close to equilibrium, but its large-scale utilization as an alternative energy carrier would alter its atmospheric burden. The magnitude of the emissions associated with a future H(2)-based economy is difficult to predict and remains a matter of debate. Previous attempts to predict the impact that a future H(2)-based economy would exert on tropospheric chemistry were realized by considering a steady rate of microbial-mediated soil uptake, which is currently responsible of ~80% of the tropospheric H(2) losses. Although soil uptake, also known as dry deposition is the most important sink for tropospheric H(2), microorganisms involved in the activity remain elusive. Given that microbial-mediated H(2) soil uptake is influenced by several environmental factors, global change should exert a significant effect on the activity and then, assuming a steady H(2) soil uptake rate for the future may be mistaken. Here, we present an overview of tropospheric H(2) sources and sinks with an emphasis on microbial-mediated soil uptake process. Future researches are proposed to investigate the influence that global change would exert on H(2) dry deposition and to identify microorganisms involved H(2) soil uptake activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Constant
- INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, 531 boul. des Prairies, Laval, Québec, Canada H7V 1B7.
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Isolation of Streptomyces sp. PCB7, the first microorganism demonstrating high-affinity uptake of tropospheric H2. ISME JOURNAL 2008; 2:1066-76. [DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2008.59] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Mar KA, McCarthy MC, Connell P, Boering KA. Modeling the photochemical origins of the extreme deuterium enrichment in stratospheric H2. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1029/2006jd007403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Xiao X, Prinn RG, Simmonds PG, Steele LP, Novelli PC, Huang J, Langenfelds RL, O'Doherty S, Krummel PB, Fraser PJ, Porter LW, Weiss RF, Salameh P, Wang RHJ. Optimal estimation of the soil uptake rate of molecular hydrogen from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment and other measurements. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1029/2006jd007241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Barnes DH, Wofsy SC, Fehlau BP, Gottlieb EW, Elkins JW, Dutton GS, Novelli PC. Hydrogen in the atmosphere: Observations above a forest canopy in a polluted environment. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2003. [DOI: 10.1029/2001jd001199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Diana H. Barnes
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
| | - Steven C. Wofsy
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
| | - Brian P. Fehlau
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
| | - Elaine W. Gottlieb
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
| | - James W. Elkins
- Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder Colorado USA
| | - Geoffrey S. Dutton
- Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder Colorado USA
| | - Paul C. Novelli
- Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder Colorado USA
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Hauglustaine DA, Ehhalt DH. A three-dimensional model of molecular hydrogen in the troposphere. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2002. [DOI: 10.1029/2001jd001156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D. A. Hauglustaine
- Service d'Aéronomie du CNRS; Universitéde Paris 6; Paris France
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement; Gif-sur-Yvette France
| | - D. H. Ehhalt
- Institut für Atmosphärische Chemie, Forschungszentrum Jülich; Jülich Germany
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Masarie KA, Langenfelds RL, Allison CE, Conway TJ, Dlugokencky EJ, Francey RJ, Novelli PC, Steele LP, Tans PP, Vaughn B, White JWC. NOAA/CSIRO Flask Air Intercomparison Experiment: A strategy for directly assessing consistency among atmospheric measurements made by independent laboratories. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2001. [DOI: 10.1029/2000jd000023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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O'Doherty S, Simmonds PG, Cunnold DM, Wang HJ, Sturrock GA, Fraser PJ, Ryall D, Derwent RG, Weiss RF, Salameh P, Miller BR, Prinn RG. In situ chloroform measurements at Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment atmospheric research stations from 1994 to 1998. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2001. [DOI: 10.1029/2000jd900792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Prinn RG, Weiss RF, Fraser PJ, Simmonds PG, Cunnold DM, Alyea FN, O'Doherty S, Salameh P, Miller BR, Huang J, Wang RHJ, Hartley DE, Harth C, Steele LP, Sturrock G, Midgley PM, McCulloch A. A history of chemically and radiatively important gases in air deduced from ALE/GAGE/AGAGE. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2000. [DOI: 10.1029/2000jd900141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 570] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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