Seeing that the production of hydrogen was successful, this method of hydrogen production can be applied to the real world. Although it may not be refined enough to produce large amounts on a commercial scale, it does produce hydrogen in one of the most environmentally friendly ways compared to other hydrogen production methods- which pump out a lot of greenhouse gases and other chemicals. Also other methods use much more energy than the hydrogen produced can release.
The hydrogen produced from the algae can be used to generate electricity. The simplest way is burning it to heat water which creates steam and than the steam turns large turbines producing electricity. However, this is not the most effective way.
Today, hydrogen generation is mostly being developed as a way to provide hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cells and this is the most effective use. The hydrogen generated from the algae would be used like any other hydrogen. It could be compressed and used in a hydrogen fuel cell to produce electricity. There are several different types of hydrogen fuel cells but they all work fairly the same way. They use stored chemical energy and convert it directly into electrical energy. Fuel cells consist of an electrolyte, which keeps the reactants from mixing together, electrodes which are catalysts where the electrochemical reaction occurs and finally a bipolar plate which is used to collect the current and build up voltage.
(fig 9-1) Hydrogen fuel cell
There are other applications besides the hydrogen generated from these algae. The algae, once they die can be used as feed for the system itself. The algae essentially contain a lot of the nutrients still and could be used in other places. They can be used as a fertilizer, soil conditioner and source of livestock feed. The algae can also be used to extract oil from them and produce bio diesel.
(fig 9-2) Biodiesel