Hydrogen from Natural Sources? 'White' Hydrogen Lurks Under the Ground and Under the Radar

Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--While hydrogen as a future fuel is gaining popularity, one of its biggest hindrances revolves around its production--or separation into a useful state. Pundits have assigned various colors, from grey--for the most common method, separation from natural gas--to green, for separation from water molecules using renewable power. But building enough plants to make any color hydrogen is expensive and consumes a lot of energy just in the processing end--which does not include storage and shipping.

Too bad hydrogen can't just be drilled for like oil and gas.

Or can it?

More and more scientists and agencies, including the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Advanced Research Projects Agency (also a government entity), are considering whether what's called variously "natural," "white" or "geologic" hydrogen could be available in significant quantities for commercial development.

Private firms like HyTerra (Houston, Texas) and Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC (Denver, Colorado) have committed to natural hydrogen. A joint venture between those two drilled an exploratory hydrogen well in Nebraska in 2018.

Natural hydrogen would solve several issues when compared with the processed version. Some observers estimate that white hydrogen would cost about 2/3 of the blue variety (derived from natural gas with associated carbon capture) and 1/3 of green hydrogen (derived from water using power from wind, solar, etc.).

The only preparation cost would be to purify it as needed, removing sufficient other substances to make it usable. Often hydrogen is found associated with helium, an in-demand gas that also could be sold.

The Launching Pad
Among white hydrogen proponents, their foundational event--their Spindletop, if you will--occurred in Mali in 1987. That year the village of Bourakébougou hosted a team who came to drill them a water well. After reaching 100 meters (about 328 feet), they gave up on water. But they noted an odd breeze flowing out of the dry hole.

One worker, smoking a cigarette, walked over to the hole to check on it. The cigarette ignited the hydrogen--burning the man, but not killing him--and it burned for several weeks before being capped. The gas was determined to be hydrogen.

According to H2-International, quoting a study by Prinzhofer, et al., 2018, the composition of the gas in that well, (called Bougou-1) is "98% hydrogen, and the remaining 2% consists of methane and nitrogen with traces of heavier gaseous hydrocarbons and helium." The developer, Hydroma, then drilled 20 or so more wells nearby, all of which produced H2.

But Where is It?
Reports vary as to where and how commonly the earth produces its own hydrogen. Until the last few years, no one took the topic seriously. Historically, it has been noticed in Australia, Kansas, Brazil, New Caledonia and the aforementioned Mali, but mostly in small quantities. One research ship, owned by green energy nonprofit Energy Observer, is in New Caledonia and finding "where underwater vents release warm (43˚C) and alkaline (pH>11) waters rich in H2 (between 12 and 34%)."

How It's Formed
With little previous research, there is some mystery to its origin. Energy Observer lists some theories: "The natural processes of hydrogen creation are not yet fully understood. Some hypotheses include degassing of hydrogen directly from the Earth's core, reaction of water with ultrabasic rocks (serpentinization) or reducing agents in the mantle, natural radiolysis (dissociation of water by uranium or plutonium), and decomposition of organic matter." That's what is creating the New Caledonia hydrogen vents.

A story on the website Science.org notes that observers have identified hundreds of hydrogen seeps around the world, including Ukraine, Spain and elsewhere. The story also notes that there may be more free hydrogen in natural gas--but producers have not tested for it, because they did not realize it was there.

Because it is produced from ongoing processes, white hydrogen would indeed be renewable, unlike oil and natural gas that take thousands of years to form. That means it could supply energy needs indefinitely.

The Future
White hydrogen is still way under the commercial radar, with only a few companies even looking for it. But if it is indeed available, it checks most of the boxes that other hydrogen colors don't, including price. It still must be chilled or compressed, and transported. But if there are dozens of undetected hydrogen seeps, as some maintain, it is possible that power plants or factories could be built near them, to harness the power on the spot.

That's what happened in Mali--a company modified an engine to run on hydrogen from the well, used it to power a generator, and supplied power to the previously dark village. Education improved because children could study at night, and the entire area benefitted.

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