Can we use Hydrogen for long-distance planes (Read Desc)?

Question

I know you may fear hydrogen, however hydrogen is only flammable when on contact with fire, what if it was protected by fire-and-heat proof metals, could we use it to fly from England to Spain and from America to Australia etc.

Thank you.

Answer 1

It's possible, but hydrogen has some limits as a fuel.  It has less stored energy than gasoline or jet fuel (which is mostly kerosene).  This is why with land vehicles it's mostly used for smaller vehicles, although there has been some success using it for buses.  To generate enough energy to power an airplane, the hydrogen would need to be stored under very high pressure, which requires thick tanks, which add weight, which requires more power...you see the difficulty.  One possibility would be a hybrid system, in which the planes would use conventional fuel for takeoff, which requires a lot of power, and a hydrogen fuel cell for cruising.  This would mean parallel power systems, but there is some precedent for this.

Answer 2

The answer is yes, I believe Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines has already done it. However, it would only be good for short flights because the tanks have to be heavy and pressurised.

Answer 3

The hydrogen atom is so small almost everything leaks. A static spark can set it off.

Answer 4

So...basically have the airplanes carry liquid hydrogen instead of liquid jet fuel?  I don't really see why not, although the engines would need to be redesigned.  The fuel lines probably would, too, since liquid hydrogen is extremely cold.  And lastly, I'm not sure which costs more - a gallon of jet fuel or enough liquid hydrogen to make the same amount of propulsion as a gallon of jet fuel would.  If hydrogen is more expensive, then the airlines won't go for it.  They also won't go for it if, for instance, you need twice as many gallons of hydrogen to go as far as you can with jet fuel, since that would require enlarging planes' fuel tanks or flying shorter flights.

Answer 5

Possibly, but the trouble with hydrogen is that it takes a lot of energy (i.e. fuel) to isolate it so that it can be put into cannisters in the first place.  Therefore it is debateable whether it would be much cheaper or 'greener' than using oil based fuels.

Answer 6

However we can use ammonia(as hydrogen storage) to fly.

1 kg of ammonia releases 2 m3 of hydrogen...

My only question is:

Is there an ammonia craker that is able to produce the required hydrogen for the airplane ?...