7/27/2019 1984-National Hydrogen Energy Program in Brazil

1/6

Int. J. Hydrogen Energy,Vol. 10, No. 9, pp. 601--606, 1985.P r in t ed i n Grea t Br i t a in ,

0360-3199/85 $3.00 + 0.00PergamonPres s L td .

In t e rna t iona l Assoc i a t i on fo r Hydrogen Ene rgy.

N A T I O N A L H Y D R O G E N E N E R G Y P R O G R A M I N B R A Z I L

M. C . MATrOS

Secre tar ia de Tecnologia s /753 Minis t6r io das Minas e Ene rgia , 70056, Bras i l ia -DF, Bras i l

(Received for publication 4 October1984)

A b s t r a c t - - T o face the 1973 energy crisis and allow a reduction of fossil fuels imports. Brazil has developed animpor tant a lcohol program, sui ted to secure a major share of l iquid fuels supply to be used in t ranspor ta t ionsectors.

Nat ional energy resource agencies point ou t tha t em phasis should be pu t on b iomass and e lec t r ic i ty.Having the second larges t hydropower potent ia l in the wor ld , the Brazi l ian d i lemma is tha t one- th i rd of th is

potent ia l i s s i tua ted in the far Amazon region, whereas consumpt ion cent res are in the Southeas t region. Thus ,hydrogen presents i t se l f as an excel lent car r ier for our cou ntry.

The energy sys tem in Brazi l should be o r iented towards a sys tem based on e lec t r ic i ty and h ydrogen. With theavai labi l i ty of off -peak hy droelec t r ic i ty a t a low cos t and new, v ery large p lants s tart ing opera t io n , the s i tua t ionappears qu i te favourable for water e lec tro lys is and hydrogen product ion dev elopm ent . The prod uct ion of e lec-t ro ly t ic hydrog en, which can b e t ransp or ted and s tored , i s specia l ly in teres t ing because i t a l lows a h eavy e lec t r ic i ty

ut i l iza tion wel l -f i t ted to p roduct ion manage ment . I t s use would mod ula te and opt imize e lec t r ic i ty uses .Hydrogen product ion would be used in the chemical indust ry and for energy purposes ,Relevant aspects of the Brazi l ian hydrogen energy program are descr ibed.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A f t e r Wo r l d W a r Tw o , t h e i n d u s t r i a l n a t i o n s l iv e d i na n e r a o f e n e r g y a b u n d a n c e , a s s u m i n g t h a t e n e r g ys o u r c e s w e r e v i r t u a l l y l i m i tl e s s. M a n y d e v e l o p i n g c o u n -t r i e s f o l l o w e d t h e i r e x a m p l e , a n d i n 1 97 3 t h e o i l c r i si sc a m e a s a t e r ri b l e s h o c k - - f o r t h e f i rs t t i m e t h e p e o p l eo f t h e w o r l d b e c a m e c o n s c i o u s th a t o i l p r o d u c t i o n , o n

w h i ch t h e e c o n o m i c a n d i n d u s tr i al d e v e l o p m e n t o fn a t i o n s w a s b a s e d , c o u l d s o o n s t a r t t o d e c l i n e .

S i n c e t h e n , w h e n i t b e c a m e c l e a r th a t f o s s i l f u e l s a r en o t u n l i m i t e d a n d p e o p l e b e c a m e a w a r e o f e n vi r o n -m e n t a l p r o b l e m s , i n d u s t r i a l n a t i o n s h a v e b e e n f o r c e dt o d e v e l o p a l t e r n a t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s t o s a t i s fy th e i r f u e ln e e d s i n a n a t t e m p t t o r e d u c e t h e i r d e p e n d e n c e o np e t r o l e u m .

To f a c e t h e 1 9 73 e n e rg y c r i s i s a n d a l l o w a r e d u c t i o no f fo s si l f u el i m p o r t s , B r a z il h a s e x p a n d e d e x p l o r a t i o np r o g r a m s f o r p e t r o l e u m a n d h a s d e v e l o p e d a l t er n a t iv ee n e r g y s o u r c e p r o g r a m s . T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f t h e s ea l t e r n a t i v e p r o g r a m s i s t h e N a t i o n a l A l c o h o l P r o g r a m( P R O A L C O O L ) , d e s i g n e d t o s e c ur e a m a j o r s h a re o fl i q u i d fu e l s u p p l i e s to b e u s e d i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s e c t o rs .

N a t i o n a l p o l i c y s h o u l d o p t f o r th e d e v e l o p m e n t o fo u r r a w i n d i g e n o u s e n e r g y s o u r c e s . P r i o r i ti e s f o r fu n d -i n g t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a l t e rn a t i v e e n e r g y s o u r c e s h a v eb e e n e s t a b l i s h e d . N a t i o n a l l y a v a i la b l e e n e r g y re s o u r c e sa n d e n e r g y s e l f - su f f ic i e n c y h a v e w e i g h e d a s i m p o r t a n tc o n s i d e r a t i o n s in p o i n t i n g o u t t h a t e m p h a s i s s h o u l d b ep u t o n b i o m a s s a n d e l e c t ri c i ty.

H Y D R O G E N IN B R A Z I L . AT P R E S E N T

H y d r o g e n . a s a n i n d u s t r i a l r a w m a t e r i a l , a l re a d y, p l a y sa n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n B r a z i l . T h e h y d r o g e n p r o d u c i n g

a n d c o n s u m i n g m a r k e t s a r e d i ff ic u l t t o e v a l u a t e a sh y d r o g e n i s , a t p r e s e n t , o b t a i n e d m a i n l y fr o m f o s s ilfue l s .

T h e q u a n t i t i e s i n v o l v e d i n p o t e n t i a l h y d r o g e n s u p p l ya n d d e m a n d a r e l a r g e a s t h e B r a z i l i a n m a r k e t i s e x p a n d -i n g r a p i d l y, c h i ef l y i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f n i t r o g e n f e rt i -l iz e r s, t h r o u g h t h e p r o c e s s o f a m m o n i a s y n t h e si s . I nB r a z i l , i n d u s t r i a l d e m a n d f o r h y d r o g e n i s m a k i n g f o r

s u b s t a n t i a l a n d p r o g r e s s i v e g r o w t h . H y d r o g e n i s s e l d o mt h e f in a l p r o d u c t s o l d . N o r m a l l y , th e h y d r o g e n p r o d u c e di s c o n s u m e d a s an i n t e r m e d i a t e i n v a r i o u s s p e c i a li z e dp u r p o s e s . H y d r o g e n i s u s e d i n a w i d e s p e c t r u m o fi n d u s t r i e s , t o m a n u f a c t u r e m a n y t h i n g s , f ro m f e r ti l iz e r st o p l a s t i c s .

T h e 1 97 7 h y d r o g e n s u p p l y i n B r a z i l o f 16 8 0 0 0 m e t r i ct o n n e s w a s d i v i d e d a s s h o w n i n F i g . 1 . B y f a r t h e b i g g e s tc o n s u m e r i s t h e f e r ti l i z e r i n d u s t r y - - 7 8 % . N e x t : t h e s t e eli n d u s t r y m 8 % , o i l r e fi n i n g -- - 6 % , m e t h a n o l - - 3 % . T h ep r o d u c t i o n o f a m m o n i a , w h i c h i s c h i ef ly re s p o n s i b l e f o rt h e c o n s u m p t i o n o f h y d r o g e n , i s r e q u i r e d f o r fe r t il i z e rsa s w e l l a s f o r v a r i o u s c h e m i c a l p r o d u c t s s u c h a s p l a s t i c s ,

s y n t h e t i c f i b r e s , n i t r i c a c i d , e t c .B r a z i l i a n h y d r o g e n g a s c o n s u m p t i o n , d u r i n g 1 9 80 ,w a s 1 8 0 0 0 0 m e t r i c t o n n e s . O n l y 2 % o f t h is t o t a l w a so b t a i n e d b y e l e c t ro l y s i s . T h e b a l a n c e ( 9 8 % ) o r i g i n a t e df r o m p e t r o l e u m , n a p h t h a a n d n a t u r a l g as . In B r a z il ,e l e c t r o l y t i c h y d r o g e n w i ll b e a b l e t o c o m p e t e i n th es h o r t t e r m w i t h t h a t p r o d u c e d f r o m f o s s i l f u e l s , d u e t ot h e l a r g e B r a z i l i a n h y d r o e l e c t r i c p o t e n t i a l .

T h e t o t a l d e m a n d f o r h y d r o g e n , d u r i n g 1 9 8 0 , w a s3 00 0 0 0 m e t r i c t o n n e s . I n t e r n a l s u p p l y t h e r e f o r e s h o w sa d e f i c it o f a b o u t 1 00 0 0 0 t y - 1. B r a z i l i m p o r t s a b o u to f t h e h y d r o g e n r e q u i r e d f o r th e p r o d u c t i o n o fn i t r o g e n - b a s e d p r o d u c t s.

T h e r e i s a g r o w i n g a p p r e c i a t i o n i n B r a z i l o f t h e p o s -

601

7/27/2019 1984-National Hydrogen Energy Program in Brazil

2/6

602 M. C. MA"TOS

OIL"REFINING

S T E E LINDUSTRY

M E T H A N O L

Fig . 1 . Indus t r i a l u ses o f hydr ogen in Braz i l i n 1977 . Sou rce :C E S P - U N I C A M P ( 19 8 0) . Te cn o l o g ia e E c o n o m i a D o C i c lo

D o H i d r o g e n i o .

sible future value of hydro gen in both direct and indirectenergy applications.

Projections for hydrogen requirements and uses inBrazil are presented in the Poster Session of this Con-ference: 'Electrolytic Hydrogen Application Feasibilityin Brazil' (E. V. Campos).

E N E R G Y S I T U AT I O N A N D H Y D R O G E NENERGY PROSPECTS IN BRAZIL

The energ y crisis affected Brazil, as well as all devel-oping countries, seriously. Brazil has depended toomuch on external energy resources. Although Brazilianproduction of oil is steadily increasing, we must be lessreliant on petroleum. The evolution of total primaryenergy consumption is shown in Table 1 and Fig. 2(Minist6rio das Minas e Energia, 1984).

Figure 3 shows the changes which have occurred in

I00 J " - - CoaLand others

80 ~ - - ~ Sugar cone

HydroDower6O

Firewood

20 OiL

0 I

1973 1978 1983Fig. 2. Percentage participation. Source: Balan~o Energ~tico

National, 1984.

the last ten years in primary energy sources consump-tion. The evolution of petroleum participation was asfollows: in 1973, pet role um was respons ible for 43% oftotal primary energy consumption in Brazil, and thispercentage shows the strong dependence of theBrazilian econ omy on this fossil fuel. In 1982, pe trol eumwas responsible for 36% of total primary energy con-sumption in Brazil, and the national production ofpetroleum accounted for 27% of this demand (Brasil,1983). I n 1983, pe tro le um was resp onsi ble for 34% ofthe total primary energy consumption, and the nationalproduction of petroleum accounted for 36% of thisdemand.

The evolution of hydraulic energy participation wasas follows: in 1973, 19% and in 1983, 29%. This is themost significant increase in the last tables, con trib utin gstrongly to the data we will show in Table 2 and Fig.4.

Brazil is still vulnerable to external deve lopments inthe energy sector, because we imported, in 1983.22%--about 1/5--of the energy in our country con-sumed. But the 1983 situation was much better thanthat of 1973 and 1978 as a result of go ver nmen tal policies

Table 1. Evolution of total primary sources consumption

Year 1973 1978 1983

Sources 103toe* (%) 103toe (%) 103toe (%)

Crude oil 37 865 42.8Natural gas 260 0.3Coal 2431 2.8Uranium U3Os - - - -Hydraulic energy 16 788 19.0Firewood 23 899 27.0Sugar cane 7 051 8.0Other primary sources-t 121 0.1Sub-total renewables 47 859 54.1Total 88 415 I00.0

53 405 42.6922 0.7

4516 3.6

29 796 23.726 521 21.110 125 8. i

184 0.266 626 53.1

125 469 100.0

50 513 33.71 897 1.35 862 3.9

43 950 29.329 9l 1 19.917 257 11.5

53O O.491 648 61.1

149 920 100.0

* Tons of oil equivalent.f Refers to vegetable wastes for heat generation.Source: Balanqo Energdtico Nacional (1984).

7/27/2019 1984-National Hydrogen Energy Program in Brazil

3/6

%

1 0 -

8 -

6 -

4 -

2 -= .

E

tt

- 2 "

" 4

- 6

-o

F I V E Y E A R S C H A N G E I N

S O U R C ES C O N S U M P T I O N

-I

.aO

u

- I

Ee~

X

/ / /

/ / /

/ / /

/ / // / // / // / /

\ \ N I

\ \ - , ~\ \ - , J

\ \ ' , a

\ \ ' ~ 1

\ \ N I\ \ N I

O

8

.It

P R I M A R Y E N E R G Y

i a l l l l l l t l l

1 9 7 3 = 1 9 7 8 1 9 7 8 " 1 9 8 3

- 1 0

N AT I O N A L H Y D R O G E N E N E R G Y P R O G R A M IN B R A Z I L 603

,.71

olt-z

~ / 7 'a/ / /

o

/ / /

/ / 7 m

/ / /

/ / /

/ / /

/ / /

/ / // / // / // / /

: ' / , 4

No00

E

/

F i g . 3 . P r i m a r y e n e rg y s o u r c e s c h a n g e s i n t h e l a s t t e n y e a r s . S o u r c e : B a l a n q o E n e rg 6 t i c o N a c i o n a l ( 1 9 8 4 ) .

Ta b l e 2 . E v o l u t i o n o f e x te r n a l e n e r g y d e p e n d e n c e

Spec i f i ca t ion1973 1978 1983

103toe (% ) 103toe (% ) 103toe (% )

F i n a lc o n s u m p t i o n 8 0 9 8 9

E n e rg y L o s s e s i nd e m a n d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ,

d i s t r i b u t i o na n d s t o r a g e * 7 6 9 6Tota l 88 685

P r i m a r y e n e rg y p r o d u c t i o n 5 8 3 4 0E x t e r n a l e n e r g y d e p e n d e n c e 3 0 3 45

91.3 114 989 91.6 131 512 90.1

8.7 10 540 8.4 14 494 9.9100.0 125 529 100.0 146 006 100.065.8 78 456 62.5 113 788 77.934.2 47 073 37.5 32 218 22.1

* I n c l u d e s n o t u t i l i z e d e n e rg y a n d r e i n j e c t i o nS o u r c e : B a l a n ~ o E n e rg 6 t i c o N a c i o n a l ( 1 9 8 4 )

7/27/2019 1984-National Hydrogen Energy Program in Brazil

4/6

60 4

I0 0

8 0 -

6O

4 0 ' - -

2 0 - -

0f 9 7 3

I1978 1983

E x t e r n G (d e p e n d e n c e

N a t i o n a l

p r o d u c t i o n

M. C . MATTOS

Fig. 4. Perce ntage participation. So urce: Balan~o Ener grtic oNacional, 1984.

b e i n g u s e d t o c o n s t r a i n t h e g r o w t h o f o i l d e p e n d e n c ewhi l s t , a t t he same t ime , i nc reas ing e l ec t r i c i ty use .

E n e rg y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s m u s t c e a s e t o b e a n e g a t i v ef a c t o r in o u r b a l a n c e o f p a y m e n t s p o s i ti o n . B r a z il h a se n o r m o u s e n e r g y r e s o u r c e s , a n d o p t i o n s s h o u l d b et a k e n i n o r d e r t o c a p i t a l i z e o n t h e p o t e n t i a l t h a t t h e s er e s o u r c e s r e p r e s e n t .

Braz i l i s a p r iv i l eged coun t ry in hav ing the second-l a rg e s t h y d r o p o w e r p o t e n t i a l i n t h e w o r l d . T h i s p o t e n -t i al wou ld a l low co mp le te sa t i s f ac t ion o f ou r e l ec tr i ce n e rg y n e e d s u p t o t h e t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y. I n f a c t ,m e m b e r s o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t h a v e f r e q u e n tl y a d m i t te dtha t t hey have no t r eached a f ina l e s t ima te fo r t hena t iona l po ten t i a l : t h i s po ten t i a l has o f t en beenr e e v a l u a t e d l e a d i n g to h i g h e r v a l u e s u n d e r t h e p r e s s u r eo f r i s ing p r i ces fo r ene rgy. The l a t e s t va lue fo r t h i sp o t e n t i a l is 2 1 3 G W o f i n s t a ll e d g e n e r a t i n g c a p a c i ty.Jus t 18% of th is po ten t i a l i s be ing e ff ec t ive ly u t il i zeda t p re sen t . In 1985 , i n s t a l l ed gene ra t ing capac i ty shou ldi nc re as e to 45 G W ( S I E S E - S G / M M E , D N A E E , E L E -T R O B R A S ' 1 98 3) . T h e re a r e e n o r m o u s r e g i on a l e n e r g yd i s p a r i t i e s i n e n e rg y p r o d u c t i o n a n d u s e i n B r a z i l . T h eB r a z i li a n d i l e m m a i s t h a t o n e t h i r d o f i ts h y d r o p o w e rp o t e n t i a l is s i t u a t e d i n t h e f a r A m a z o n r e g i o n , w h e r e a sc o n s u m p t i o n c e n t re s a r e c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e S o u t h e a s tr e g i o n . T h i s p o s e s th e q u e s t i o n o f tr a n s p o r t a t i o n o fl a rg e b lo c k s o f e n e rg y t o l a rg e d i s t an c e s . T h u s , h y d r o -

gen p resen t s i t s e l f a s an exce l l en t ene rg y ca r r i e r o rc u r r e n c y f o r o u r c o u n t r y.U p t o n o w, e l e c t r i c i t y h a s b e e n t h e d o m i n a n t e n e rg y

c u r r e n c y f o r e n e rg y s o u r c e s i n c l u d i n g h y d r a u l i c s i t e s ,n u c l e a r p o w e r, g e o t h e r m a l p o w e r a n d , i n t h e f u t u r e ,t i da l , d i r ec t so l a r, wave and wind . However, e l ec t r i c i tyh a s th e d i s a d v a n t a g e o f n o t b e i n g s to r a b l e . H y d r o g e n ,a n o t h e r f o r m o f s e c o n d a r y e n e rg y, w h i c h c a n b e s t o r e da n d t r a n s p o r t e d , is a n e n e rg y c a r r ie r t h a t i s n o w b e i n gc o n s i d e r e d a s a c o m p l e m e n t t o e l e c t r i c i t y.

M u c h h a s b e e n w r i t t e n a b o u t a n e n e rg y s y s t e m b a s e do n e l e c t r i c i t y a n d h y d r o g e n(Int . J . Hydrogen Energy,1 98 3) . D e v e l o p e d n a t i o n s h a v i n g a d e q u a t e r e s o u r c e s ,o r b road v i s ion , a re pu t t ing the i r f a i th in th i s ene rgy

sys tem. Canada i s t he l eade r in th i s f i e ld and the hos to f t hi s c o n f e r e n c e . T h e f o l l o w i n g w o r d s , f r o m t h e r e p o r twr i t t en by a spec ia l commi t t ee e s t ab l i shed by theC a n a d i a n H o u s e o f C o m m o n s f o r th e p u r p o s e o f e x a m -i n in g t h e p o t e n t i a l s o f a ll t h e e n e rg y s o u r c e s a n d e n e rg yca r r i e r s , conf i rm th i s po in t :

"In fifty years C ana da's e nerg y system w ill be radicallydifferent. We foresee a system based upon electricity andhydrogen as the major energy carriers or currencies, withonly minimal and selected use of hydrocarbons (crude oil.natural gas an d coal) as fuels. Electric p ow er will be gen-erated in several ways, with the hyd roge n prod uced primarilythrou gh the electrolysis of wate r" (Special Committee o nAlternative En erg y and Oil Substitution to the Parliamentof Canada 1981).

B r a z i l c o u l d f o l l o w C a n a d a ' s e x a m p l e a n d a s s u m et h e s a m e i n n o v a t o r y r o l e i t a l r e a d y p l a y e d w h e n t h ea lcoho l p rog ram was e s t ab l ished . Braz i l i an in i t ia t ive ins e a r c h i n g f o r a l t e r n a t i v e s t o i m p o r t e d o i l t r a n s f o r m e do u r c o u n t r y i n a n e x a m p l e t o b e f o l l o w e d b y d e v e l -o p i n g n a t i o n s . I n t h e s a m e w a y, B r a z i l c o u l d b e c o m et h e l e a d er i n h y d r o g e n t e c h n o l o g y a m o n g d e v e l o p i n gcoun t r i e s .

H y d r o g e n p r o d u c e d f r o m w a t e r c a n b e u s e d f o ra m m o n i a s y n t h e s i sin situ. A d e v e l o p i n g n a t i o n l i k eBraz i l , t ha t mus t now impor t f e r t i l i ze r s and i s f ac ingt h e n e e d o f e v e n m o r e f e r t il i za t io n a n d f o o d p r o d u c t i o ni n th e f u t u r e - - f o o d f o r e x p o r t a s w e ll a s f o r t h e i n c re a s -i n g B r a z i li a n p o p u l a t i o n - - i s i n t e r e s t e d i n c a r ry i n g t e c h -n o l o g y b e y o n d p i l o t -p l a n t l e v e ls f o r p r o d u c i n g e l e c tr o -l y ti c h y d r o g e n a n d a m m o n i a . D e v e l o p i n g n a t i o n s m u s to c c u p y a n d d e v e l o p a r u r a l i n f ra s t r u c tu r e a c r o s s th ee n t i re c o u n t r y. E n e rg y d e m a n d c a n b e r e o rg a n i z e d inthese coun t r i e s more eas i ly than in indus t r i a l i zed one ,wh ere an in f r a s t ruc tu re i s a l r eady ins t a ll ed . In deve l -op ing coun t r i e s we have the f ee l ing tha t t he fu tu re canb e c h a n g e d - - i t is n o t m e r e l y a n e x t r a p o l a t io n o f t h ep a s t. H i g h g r o w t h r a t e s o f p o p u l a t i o n a l lo w f o r i n n o -v a t i o n s th a t w o u l d b e u n t h i n k a b l e i n c o u n t r i e s a l r e a d yto ta l ly s t ruc tu red , where the re i s p rac t i ca l ly no g rowtha n y l o n g e r.

I t s e e m s t h a t a n e n e rg y s y s t e m b a s e d o n e l e c t r i c i t ya n d h y d r o g e n w o u l d c o n t r i b u t e t o r e a c h in g th i s ai m a n db e a d o p t e d m o r e e a s i l y i n a n e w c o u n t r y. I t w o u l dc r e a t e a n u m b e r o f j o b s i n t h e w h o l e c o u n t r y, g e n e r a t i n g

t e c h n o l o g i c a l, a g r i c u lt u r a l a n d e c o n o m i c a l d e v e l o p m e n ttoge the r wi th exce l l en t soc ia l bene f i t s .I n v ie w o f th e a b o v e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , w e c o m e t o t h e

f o l lo w i n g c o n c l u s i o n : t h e e n e rg y s y s t e m i n B r a z il s h o u l db e o r i e n t e d t o w a r d s a s y s t e m b a s e d o n e l e c t r i c i t y a n dh y d r o g e n . W i t h t h e a v a i la b i li ty o f o f f - p e a k h y d r o -e l ec t r i c i ty a t a l ow cos t and new, ve ry l a rge p l an t ss t a r t i n g o p e r a t i o n , t h e s i t u a t i o n a p p e a r s q u i t e f a v o u r -a b l e f o r w a t e ~ e le c t ro l y s i s a n d h y d r o g e n p r o d u c t i o nd e v e l o p m e n t . T h e p r o d u c t i o n o f e l e c tr o ly t ic h y d r o g e n ,which can be t r anspor t ed and s to red , i s spec ia l ly in t e r-e s t ing because i t a l lows a heavy e l ec t r i c i ty u t i l i za t ionw e l l s u i t e d t o p r o d u c t i o n m a n a g e m e n t . I t s u s e w o u l dm o d u l a t e a n d o p t i m i z e e l e c t r i c i t y u s e s .

7/27/2019 1984-National Hydrogen Energy Program in Brazil

5/6

N AT I O N A L H Y D R O G E N E N E R G Y P R O G R A M IN B R A Z I L 605

H Y D R O G E N P R O G R A M

R e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a c t i v i t i e s c o n c e r n i n gh y d r o g e n e n e r g y h a v e b e e n s p o n s o r e d b y C o m p a n h i aE n e rg ~ t i c a d e S &o P a u l o ( C E S P ) , F i n a n c i a d o r a d eE s t u d o s e P r o j e t o s ( F I N E P ) a n d M i n i s t e r i o d a s M i n a s

e E n e rg i a ( M M E ) . T h e l a rg e s t e f f o r t h a s b e e n t h a t o fC E S P , s u p p o r t e d b y s ta t e o f S& o P a u l o f u n d s , a n d o fF I N E P, b y f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t f u n d s . T h e s e a c t iv i ti e sw e r e d e v e l o p e d w i t h o u t a s tr u c t u r e d c o v e r a g e o r p l a n .

E x p e n d i t u r e o n h y d r o g e n t e c h n o l o g y, i n B r a z i l,s t a r t e d i n 1 9 7 5. a n d h a s b e e n m u c h l e s s t h a n n e c e s s a r yf o r m a i n t a i n i n g a c o n t i n u o u s r e s e a r ch a n d d e v e l o p m e n tp r o g r a m , a n d f o r th e d e v e l o p m e n t o f h u m a n r e so u r c es .I t s e e m s u rg e n t n o t o n l y t o a s s u r e t h e c o n t i n u i t y o fthese ac t iv i t i e s and the i r coord ina t ion , bu t a l so to g ivea n i m p u l s e t o th e i r d e v e l o p m e n t s o th a t h y d r o g e n , a si n d u s t r a i l f e e d s t o c k a n d a s a n e n e rg y v e c t o r, c a n p l a yan impor tan t ro le in the Braz i l i an fu tu re , in a shor t

t ime .A C o m m i s s io n f o r th e D e v e l o p m e n t o f H y d r o g e n( C D H ) w a s e st a b l is h e d b y th e M i n i s t e r o f M i n e s a n dE n e rg y i n 1 9 8 2 f o r c o o r d i n a t i n g r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l -o p m e n t a c t i v i t i e s i n h y d r o g e n e n e rg y. H y d r o e l e c t r i cu t i l i ty companies a re g iv ing f inanc ia l suppor t to theC o m m i s s io n . T h e p l a n n in g f o r t h e H y d r o g e n P r o g r a m

is in the in i t i a l phase , bas ic r esea rch and app l i ca t ionp r o j e c t s h a v i n g y e t t o b e s e l e c t e d .

T h e o b j e c t i v e o f th i s p r o g r a m is t h e e s t a b l is h m e n t o fp o l ic i e s f o r h y d r o g e n r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t , a n du t i l i z a t i o n , l i n k i n g h y d r o g e n R & D t o u t i l i z a t i o n . T h et a rg e t is t o r e a c h t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n d e p e n d e n c e , a n d s i m -

u l t a n e o u s l y t o in c o r p o r a t e e c o n o m i c r e su l ts t h a t w o u l da l lo w e x p a n s i o n o f t h e p r o g r a m .T h e C o m m i s s i o n f o r t h e D e v e l o p m e n t o f H y d r o g e n

has the main o b jec t ive o f e s tab l i sh ing the Braz i l i anH y d r o g e n C e n t r e , t h a t w il l b e o rg a n i z e d , a s i t e x p a n d s ,in four nuc le i , a s shown in F ig . 5 (Comiss f io de Desen-v o l v i m e n t o d o H i d r o g ~ n i o ( 1 9 8 4 ) ). T h e C e n t r e f u n d i n gi s US$ 5 000 000 fo r the f i rs t th ree yea rs .

A b r i e f o v e r v i ew o f t h e r e s e a rc h a n d d e v e l o p m e n ta r e a s o f i n te r e s t i n B r a z i l n o w w i ll b e p r o v i d e d i n Ta b l e3.

A tes t e l ec t ro lyse r s p lan t i s be ing ins ta l l ed a tC o r u m b a t a i - - S P, w i t h th e s p e c if i ca t io n s as s h o w n i n

Ta b l e 4 .T h e e l e c t ro l y s e r s , o f t h e u n i p o l a r t y p e , w e r e b u i lt b yC E S P u s in g t ec h n o l o g y d e v e lo p e d b y U N I C A M P -C O D E T E C ( U ni ve rs it y o f C a m p i n a s - - C o m p a n y f o rTe c h n o l o g i c a l D e v e l o p m e n t ) .

I n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n e l e c t r o c h e m i s t r y c o n c e r n i n g a p p l i -c a t i o n s i n e l e c t r o l y s e r s p r e s e n t l y b e i n g d e v e l o p e d a t

R e s e a r c h a n dd e v e l o p m e n t

D e v e L o p m e n t o fh u m a n r e s o u r c e s

L a b o r a t o r y r e s e a r c h

DeveLopment o f mo de l son Labora to ry s c a l e

I n f o r m a t i o n c e n t r e :t echn icaL ,

a n d s c i e n t i f i c i n t e g r o t i o r

i D i r e c t o r c o u n c i l I

II

I I IE n g i n e e r i n g d e v e l o p m e n to f p r o t o t y p e s a n d U t i L i z a t i o n

indu s t r ioL p r o c e s s e s

D e v e l o p m e n t o fp r o d u c t s a n d p r o c e s s e s

P r o d u c t i o n p r o t o t y p e s ot

e q u i p m e n t o n

i n d u s t r i a l s c a L e

S c a l i n g , e n g i n e e r i n g a n dp r o t o t y p e f a b r i c a t i o n

I n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n

E n c o u r a g e m e n t o fi n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n

SeLe c t ion o f p r o d u c e r s

T r a n s f e r o f t e c h n o l o g y

P r o m o t i o n o f e q u i p m e n tp r o d u c t i o n

L i a i s o n b e t w e e n i n d u s t r y

a n d r e s e a r c h

Techn ica l a n d e c o n o m i c

f e a s i b i l i t y s t u d i e s

M a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h

S u p p o r t o f a n d i n c e n t i v e st o c o n s u m e r s

E c o n o m ic a s s e s s m e n t s

A s s i s t a n c e w i th c o rl t r o c t s

a n d a s s o c i a t i o n s

D iffus ion of e q u i p m e n t

and .x lus t r ioL u t i l i za t ions

L i a is o n b e t w e e n e n d - u s e r s

onr l indus t ry

Fig. 5. Brazilian Hydrogen Centre.

Table 3. Research and dev elop me ntare as of interest no w. in Brazil

1. Water electrolysis----electrolysers for large production of hydrogen or ammonia2. Storage tech niqu es--p ractica l aspects of metal hydrides3. Fuel cells--C onstruction of prototype s of phosphoric acid cells

7/27/2019 1984-National Hydrogen Energy Program in Brazil

6/6

606

Table 4. Specifications of the test p lant in installa tion at Corum-batai---SP

M. C. MATI'OS

panor ama that hydrogen will. in the near future, assumean import ant role within the energy matrix.

Hydrogen production rate 20 Nm3hCell voltage 2.1 VNumber of cells 12Efficiency 70%Specific consumption of electricity 5 kWhNm -3Current density 13.0 Adm -2

Instituto de Ffsica e Quimica de S~o Carlos, USP (Uni-versity of S~o Paulo), are described in two papers pre-sented at this Conference: "A contribut ion to the studyof the H.E.R. on tungsten under water electrolysiscondition s' (A. A. Tan aka, E. R. Gonz alez and L. A.Avaca) and 'Ni-Fe codeposits as cathodes for waterelectrolysis' (J. de Carvalho, G. Tremiliose Filho, L.A. Avaca and E. R. Gonzalez).

Concerning hydrogen production by water electro-lysis, two papers are being presented in the PosterSession of this Confer ence: 'Sine wave electrode testerfor full size electrolyer s' (D. M. Soares and O. Teschke)and 'A new model for electrolytic hydrogen bubbleevolution' (M. A. Tenan and O. Teschke), by theUniversity of Campinas.

CONCLUSION

It can be seen from the present Brazilian energy

REFERENCES

Brasil, Minist6rio das Minas e Energia, Balan~o Energ~tico

NacionaL Brasilia (1983).E. V. Campos, Electrolytic hydrogenmappl icat ion feasibilityin Brazil, 5th WHEC, Toronto, Canada (1984).

J. Carvalho, G. Tremiliose Filho, L. A. Avaca and E. R.Gonzalez, Ni-Fe codeposits as cathodes for water elec-trolysis, 5th WHEC, Toronto, Canada (1984).

CESP-UNICAMP Tecnologia e Econo mia do Ciclo do Hidro-g~nio, 108 (1980).

Comissfio de Desenvolvimento do Hidrog6nio Centro Brasil-eiro de Hidrog~nio13, (1984).

Int . J . Hydrogen Energy,Hydrogen energy and energy relatedpublications and films. Int . J . Hydrogen Energy8, 237-241(1983).

Minist~fio das Minas e Energia Preliminary version of BalanoEnergdtico Nacional.Brasilia (1984).

SIESE-SG/MME, DNAEE, ELETROBRAS Boletim Tri-mestral JAN/MAR (1983).D. M. Soares and O. Teschke, Sine wave electrode tester for

full-size electrolysers, 5th WHEC, Toronto, Canada (1984).Special Committee on Alt ernative Energy and Oil Substitution

to the Parliament of Canada, Energy Alternatives.CanadianGovernment Publishing Centre, Ottawa, 9, (1981).

A. A. Tanaka, E. R. Gonzalez and L. A. Avaca, A con-tribution to the study of the H.E.R. on tungsten underwater electrolysis conditions, 5th WHEC, Toronto, Canada(1984).

M. A. Tenan and O. Teschke, A new model for electrolytichydrogen bubble evolution, 5th WHEC, Toronto, Canada(1984).