Properties
The byproduct of its combustion with oxygen alone is water vapor (although if its combustion is with oxygen and nitrogen it can form toxic chemicals), which can be cooled with some of the liquid hydrogen. Since water is considered harmless to the environment, an engine burning it can be considered "zero emissions." Liquid hydrogen also has a much higher specific energy than gasoline, natural gas, or diesel.
The density of liquid hydrogen is only 70.99 g/L (at 20 K), a relative density of just 0.07. Although the specific energy is around twice that of other fuels, this gives it a remarkably low volumetric energy density, many fold lower.
Liquid hydrogen requires cryogenic storage technology such as special thermally insulated containers and requires special handling common to all cryogenic fuels. This is similar to, but more severe than liquid oxygen. Even with thermally insulated containers it is difficult to keep such a low temperature, and the hydrogen will gradually leak away (typically at a rate of 1% per day). It also shares many of the same safety issues as other forms of hydrogen, as well as being cold enough to liquefy (and possibly solidify) atmospheric oxygen which can be an explosion hazard.
Read more about this topic: Liquid Hydrogen
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