Hydrogen Applications

Hydrogen finds use in diverse applications covering many industries, including:

	»	Fuel Cells ... used as a fuel to power fuel cell generators that create electricity through an electrochemical process in combination with oxygen.
	»	Food ... to hydrogenate liquid oils (such as soybean, fish, cottonseed and corn), converting them to semisolid materials such as shortenings, margarine and peanut butter.
	»	Chemical processing ... primarily to manufacture ammonia and methanol, but also to hydrogenate non-edible oils for soaps, insulation, plastics, ointments and other specialty chemicals.
	»	Metal production and fabrication ... to serve as a protective atmosphere in high-temperature operations such as stainless steel manufacturing; commonly mixed with argon for welding austenitic stainless. Also used to support plasma welding and cutting operations.
	»	Pharmaceuticals ... to produce sorbitol used in cosmetics, adhesives, surfactants, and vitamins A and C.
	»	Aerospace ... to fuel spacecraft, but also to power life-support systems and computers, yielding drinkable water as a by-product.
	»	Electronics ... to create specially controlled atmospheres in the production of semiconductor circuits.
	»	Petroleum Recovery and Refinery ... to enhance performance of petroleum products by removing organic sulfur from crude oil, as well as to convert heavy crude to lighter, easier to refine, and more marketable products. Hydrogen's use in reformulated gas products helps refiners meet Clean Air Act requirements.
	»	Power Generation ... to serve as a heat transfer medium for cooling high speed turbine generators. Also used to react with oxygen in the cooling water system of boiling water nuclear reactors to suppress intergranular stress corrosion cracking in the cooling system.