Integration of transportation energy processes with a net zero energy community using captured waste hydrogen from electrochemical plants

•Waste hydrogen gas was recovered and utilized as means of waste reduction.•Case study demonstrated how integration between NZEB and FCV with waste hydrogen.•FCV is used to provide backup power realizing a truly viable off-grid NZEB.•Integration of a FCV acting as a storage medium to meet the house energy demands.

Currently, hydrocarbon fuels are the main source of energy used in the transportation sector. However, these fuels are responsible for a relatively large proportion of the overall greenhouse gas emissions in many societies. In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, alternative energy carriers such as hydrogen can be used to allow renewable energy resources to replace hydrocarbon fuels in the transportation sector. Electrochemical and other process industries frequently vent or flare hydrogen into the atmosphere. These electrochemical industries use sodium chlorate or chlor-alkali as a reactor for water purification and paper bleaching processes in which hydrogen is produced as a by-product. The vented or flared hydrogen can be captured for use in the transportation sector.When considering a net zero energy community, the transportation energy sector is often viewed as independent from the building sector of the community. In this paper, the integration of transportation energy with a net zero energy community utilizing captured waste hydrogen from chlor-alkali plants is examined. Methods integrating the energy use in transportation using hydrogen to meet the community energy demands and to achieve net zero energy balance in a community, are discussed.