Hydrogen As An Alternative Aviation Fuel—A Review

The major concerns around conventional fuels used in the aviation industry include pollution due to excessive emissions and an increase in carbon footprint apart from the rapid depletion of fossil deposits. Fossil fuels and their derivatives are the major sources of harmful emissions from aircraft. The exponential growth in the air transportation sector calls for a much cleaner, safer form of fuel, preferably renewable, like hydrogen. This article is a review on the use of hydrogen as a fuel for aircrafts. Hydrogen is a readily and abundantly available career of energy, with almost zero emissions. The emissions of hydrogen fuel only include small traces of water vapor and nitrogen oxide, which results in a considerable reduction in the carbon footprint. It has a higher efficiency than most of the common fuels currently in use. Design constraints and overall cost are some cons that need to be addressed. This paper is a holistic review of the recent research done on hydrogen energy, and intends to identify the trends in the development of hydrogen energy, and the obstacles in popularizing it. Identifying the gaps in the literature and further prospects for hydrogen fuel for aircrafts are also objectives of this study.