Improving the Black Sea Environment

In recent years, global warming has become increasingly prominent as an unsolvable problem for
humankind. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, prolonged droughts and devastating floods are processes that
people cannot currently influence, despite the fact that human activities have been identified as the cause of
climate change. The constantly increasing use of fuel leads to tremendous emissions of greenhouse gases
causing the planet’s atmosphere to overheat.
Black Sea, a highly-isolated inland sea, is the largest anoxic zone in the world. Since the hydrogen sulphide
zone was discovered in early 19th century in the Black Sea, it has been adopted that there is no life in the
depths of the Black Sea and there are only bacteria live in the hydrogen sulphide layer. High content of
organic matter, with maximum processes of bacterial sulfate reduction is the major source of this hydrogen
sulphide zone. Hydrogen sulphide is one of the most poisonous gases in the world but it has great economic
value to obtain hydrogen via dissociated into hydrogen and sulphure. Thus, the Black Sea is not only has a
serious environmental contamination but also has potential source of hydrogen energy, if a decomposition
process can be developed.
The Black Sea is H2S and its hydrogen sulfide layer begins about 200 meters below the surface. The total
sulfide pool in the Black Sea is believed to be around 4.6 109 tons.
Hydrogen sulphide, an acid gas, is generally considered an environmental pollutant. As an industrial
byproduct, it is produced mostly during fuel processing. The anoxic conditions exist in the deepest parts of
the basin, caused by the density stratification following the significant influx of the Mediterranean water
through the Bosphorous nearly 9000 years ago. Here, H2S is believed to be produced by sulphur reducing
bacteria at an approximate rate of 10 000 tons per day, and it poses a serious threat since it keeps reducing
the life in the Black Sea.
Hydrogen sulphide potentially has economic value if both sulphur and hydrogen can be recovered. Several
methods are studied for H2S decomposition, including thermal, thermochemical, electrochemical,
photochemical and plasmo chemical methods.
It’s important to provide the world hydrogen, an inexpensive environmentally friendly fuel. Hydrogen is
considered the fuel of the future, since its combustion releases only distilled water, and no harmful
substances. With this, it’s possible to encourage the rejection of fossil fuels and put a stop to air pollution.
There are possibilities to use Black Sea hydrogen sulfide as a raw material source for hydrogen production,
to reduce its presence in the sea and prevent further contamination.
It’s important to elaborate smart technologies on processes which are similar to natural ones, that do not
harm the environment in producing hydrogen fuel.
Due to low energy costs, hydrogen obtained through this process can become a real alternative to traditional
hydrocarbons and will make it possible to significantly reduce the future impact of the greenhouse effect on
our planet.
Our organization – International Center for Advancement of Research Technology and Innovation intends to
study and to take part in the process of purification of the Black Sea.