From hydrocarbon to hydrogen–carbon to hydrogen economy

In the near- to medium-term future, hydrogen production will continue to rely on fossil fuels, and will, therefore, remain a potential source of significant CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Conventional CO2 sequestration strategies offer rather expensive and ecologically uncertain solutions. The objective of this paper is to explore novel approaches to solving energy and environmental problems associated with the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels. The paper discusses the technological, environmental and economical aspects of large-scale production of hydrogen and carbon by the catalytic dissociation of natural gas (NG). The authors propose a scenario of fossil-based “hydrogen–carbon” infrastructure, where the hydrogen component of NG is used as a clean energy carrier (e.g., in transportation) and the carbon component is used in several application areas: structural materials, power generation, soil amendment and environmental remediation. This scenario will allow a smooth transition from the current hydrocarbon-based economy to a hydrogen–carbon economy as a half-way point to the ultimate hydrogen-from-renewables economy of the future.