Consider the following heavy industries : 1. Fertilizer plants 2. Oil refineries 3. Steel plants Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing how many of the above industries?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All three ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) None
Why the answer is (c)
• Green hydrogen is targeted at 'hard-to-abate' industries that already use hydrogen or need high-temperature processes.
• Fertiliser plants use hydrogen (now made from natural gas) to make ammonia; switching to green hydrogen decarbonises urea production (item 1).
• Oil refineries use large volumes of hydrogen for desulphurisation and hydrocracking; India's Green Hydrogen Mission mandates refineries to adopt green hydrogen (item 2).
• Steel plants can replace coking coal with hydrogen as the reducing agent in direct-reduced-iron processes, as in Sweden's HYBRIT project (item 3).
• Hence all three, option (c).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Only one
- All three industries, not one, are targets for green hydrogen.
- (b) Only two
- All three, not two, can be decarbonised with green hydrogen.
- (d) None
- Green hydrogen has a major role in all three sectors.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023, held on 28 May 2023. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.