3 ms·
There's a reason why different gasses are used in different applications. Combustiblity, pressure required for liquefaction, flashpoint, safety and so on. Ther
by astrodust 9y ago
There's a reason why different gasses are used in different applications. Combustiblity, pressure required for liquefaction, flashpoint, safety and so on.
There's a lot of overlap between these in some areas like home heating and BBQs, but each application requires some engineering to make it work with any particular fuel.
The energy storage density of hydrocarbons make them more practical as a fuel in situations where portability is a concern. For example: You could have a hydrogen BBQ, but the tank would probably have to be much larger for the same amount of burn time.
- badosu 9y ago> You could have a hydrogen BBQ, but the tank would probably have to be much larger for the same amount of burn time. Isn't the opposite true? I mean, hydrogen at 700 bar has a specific energy of 142 MJ/kg while hydrocarbons in general have less than 60 MJ/kg.
- dmoy 9y agoYup but propane is 20x denser than hydrogen, so even if you have 2x energy per weight, you have 0.1x energy per volume. Or something like that.
- badosu 9y agoGotcha, thanks!
- shmolyneaux 9y agoNo, hydrogen gas is less dense than hydrocarbons (at the same pressure) since it has a lower molar mass (volume is inversely proportional to the molar mass).
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]