Question 65 from UPSC CSE 2023 - Environme nt

Question

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?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: C. All three

Strategy: All listed industries--fertilizer plants, oil refineries, and steel plants--heavily depend on hydrogen or require methods to reduce high CO2 emissions. Green hydrogen, serving as both a clean feedstock and fuel, offers a universal decarbonization solution for all three.

Key Info: Green hydrogen is produced by electrolyzing water with renewable electricity, leading to zero CO2 emissions at the point of production. This contrasts with conventional grey hydrogen, which is typically derived from natural gas and emits significant greenhouse gases.

## Applicability of Green Hydrogen

*   **Fertilizer Plants:** Hydrogen is a key input for ammonia synthesis (Haber-Bosch process). Replacing fossil fuel-derived hydrogen with green hydrogen can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of fertilizers.
*   **Oil Refineries:** Hydrogen is primarily used for hydrocracking and desulfurization. Substituting existing natural gas-derived hydrogen with green hydrogen provides a direct decarbonization pathway.
*   **Steel Plants:** In technologies like Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), hydrogen is increasingly used as a reducing agent instead of coking coal. Adopting green hydrogen here would substantially abate emissions from the steel sector.

Policy initiatives globally and in India, such as the National Green Hydrogen Mission, are actively promoting green hydrogen for decarbonizing these 'hard-to-abate' industries, underscoring its direct applicability across all three sectors.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: Only one

IASCODEX · Answer

Option B: Only two

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: None

Consider the following heavy industries: Fertilizer plants Oil refineries Steel plants Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing how many of the above industries?

Consider the following heavy industries:

Fertilizer plants

Oil refineries

Steel plants
Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing how many of the above industries?