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| The Hydrogen News #24 |
| 11.28.04 (5:24 pm) |
The Hydrogen News # 24
This week I was going to write a piece on the electrolysis of methanol. Instead though I want to share an email conversation that I am having with the editor of a well known magazine that is devoted to hydrogen energy. I like to abuse myself occasionally by contacting people in the scientific/hydrogen community and trying to explain a few simple concepts in relation to hydrogen. It is cheap entertainment. I changed the name of the person involved to protect their antonimity [and myself from a lawsuit ;-) ].
So enjoy the exchange and see if I get my point across effectively. Also check out story #2 in the news links for a special surprise.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Johnston [mailto:enki@chilitech.net]
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 7:35 PM
To: support
Subject: H2 fuel/energy
From_Address: enki@chilitech.net
Contact_Name: Mike Johnston
Subject: H2 fuel/energy
Message:
Hi,
Long running newsletter you have here. Since the
first oil crisis? My,my. And in all of that time so little changed. Sure
there were design improvements but all in all no really earth shaking
developments occured. I am something of a latecomer to H2 energy, having
first started in on the subject in 1997. It has become a full time hobby
for
me and I write my own little weekly newsletter on my blog:
I think I have some things to contribute to the field
and would be willing to write an article or two for you if you are
interested. Question: Can an H2/O2 fuel cell produce it's own fuel? Answer:
Yes. Want to know how? Email me and I will explain, for free even. Regards,
MJ
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
On 11/25/2004 at 9:25 PM wrote:
You misread something somewhere. The newsletter has been running since
1986,
and the first oil crisis was in 1973, but I did in fact write, or at least
originate and contribute to, my first hydrogen stories in '73 (Business
Week, other magazines).
I don't know whether I'd want to run any articles by you; I don't know
what
you want to say, what your qualifications, interests, etc. are. If it's
just ramblings/musings, probably not, unless you want to contribute
something to our occasional "Opinion" column. But this would have to be
substantive/substantial/s ignificant, no more than 800 words, we'd reserve
the right to reject pieces, and we can't pay anything.
AS to fuel cells making their own fuel: if you are talking about
regenerative fuel cells that can run in reverse and work as electrolyzers,
producing hydrogen and oxygen, the answer is yes, we have written about
that. Anything else I'd take with a large grain of salt; I'd expect that
claims to that effect have been reviewed by experts and/or presented at a
reputable conference/symposium.
Regards,
"Joe"
Hi "Joe",
Oh, yes, I meant your writing about H2 has been going since 1973.
I try not to ramble too much but do muse occasionally... I was just curious, you certainly don't have to want any of my stuff. Won't hurt my feelings. :-)
Yep, large grain of salt, best way to approach things. I didn't really give you much of an explanation there I know and no, I wasn't talking about regenerative fuel cells. I mean using H2 fuel to produce H2 fuel. I am working on the presenting papers at the moment but haven't yet. Haven't tried to till now either. Still, I could give you a better explanation I suppose.
If you look at the reactions: 2H2 + O2 -- 2H2O and 2H2O ---- 2H2 + O2 you see two sides of the same coin and as long as you are using just those reactions then it is true that an amount of energy that is required to separate water is equal to the amount that is released when the two are combined and so in that instance, no, you couldn't use H2 fuel to produce H2 fuel. But that is not the case if there is another element on one or both sides of the reaction which also plays a part in the reaction even if that third element is not present in the final product of the reaction.
For example, we know that a H2/O2 fuel cell produces 1.23 volts no load and .8 volts under load. All we have to do is find a compound which contains H2 that can be electrolyzed at less than .8 volts. Do such compounds exist? Yes, one easy example is methanol. If pressed I could find a paper I have which demonstrates methanol electrolysis at .2 volts. So a fuel cell producing .8 volts should be able to power at least 3 methanol electrolysis cells maybe 4. And if you remember Faraday's laws of electrolysis then you realize that both the amount of H2 fuel used in the fuel call and the amount of H2 fuel produced by the electrolysis cells is determined solely by the amount of current flowing through the system and so for every one H2 molecule combined in the fuel cell one molecule of H2 would be released in each of the 3 electrolysis cells. So you end up with three times more H2 than you started with and it doesn't violate any chemical or physical laws doing it. :-)
An easier example is to consider one 1.5 volt zinc/carbon dry cell battery powering one electrolysis cell. Pretty simple stuff, right? Classic high school chemistry demonstration. That experiment is used to show that all of the energy produced by the battery is used to produce the H2 in the electrolysis cell. If the battery produces 1.5 volts and the system allows .5 amps to flow then the battery is producing .75 watts of power, right? Sure, and if 1.5 volts is dropped across the electrolysis cell and .5 amps flows through it then .75 watts of power is "used" to produce the H2 that is released. Ok so far? Then if we take that H2 and use it in a fuel cell we get 1.23 volts no load and .8 volts under load so if we multiply .8 volts by .5 amps (from the initial setup) we see that the H2 we produced in the electrolysis cell is yielding only .4 watts of power :-(
Which is less than the energy that it took to produce the H2 in the electrolysis cell. Bummer, eh?
But let's look again at out battery/electrolyzer setup. In our experiment we considered only the electrolysis cell in relation to H2 production. What about the dry cell though? That is pretty basic too. In the dry cell the electrolyte attacks the zinc canister (anode) and zinc oxide is produced. This oxidation reaction releases electrons which race around the wire connecting the zinc anode to the carbon rod cathode and powers whatever load is between the two. When these electrons reach the carbon cathode the reduction portion of the reaction takes place. This reaction is 2H+ + 2e- --- H2. Hydrogen is produced at the carbon cathode of the dry cell. As the cell operates more and more H2 builds up at the cathode and this is what makes the battery get weaker with extended use. Then, once the circuit is broken (turned off) the depolarizer in the electrolyte converts this H2 into water. This step is unnecessary though and you technically could collect this H2 as well. Then your battery/electrolyzer combination would have produced DOUBLE the H2 that was produced in our first example and when you use that amount to power a fuel cell you would either get the same voltage and double the current (.8v x 1a = .8w) or if you used two fuel cells you would get double the voltage (.8v + .8v = 1.6v) at the same current or 1.6v x .5a = .8 watts of power produced. If we look again at our first example we see that the battery we used produced .75 watts of power. We used that .75 watts to electrolyze water and then used the H2 produced by the battery/electrolyzer in fuel cells and produced .8 watts of power. That is more out of the system than was in it originally (GASP!). And it all follows plain old scientific laws. Why? Because H2 is not energy, it is an element and the energy produced when combining it with O2 comes mostly from the O2. H2 has very little energy of it's own.
So you see you in fact can use H2 fuel to produce H2 fuel and, if done correctly, you can produce more H2 fuel than what you are using to produce it. And all of that can easily be proven from a high school chemistry textbook. So how do you think I could get that published? Call Nature Magazine? "Um, excuse me Mr. Editor, I would like to prove that you can get more energy out of a system than you put into it by using a high school chemistry textbook"......CLICK.....hello? hello?...We must have been cut off. (hehe) Or submit that to a big hydrogen expo? Well I have but I won't be holding my breath until the response comes. And yet it is all true, simple to understand and easily verified from available literature or by actual experiment. Sigh. Big grain of salt indeed.
Regards,
MJ
How will this exchange turn out? I don't know yet but I think it illustrates how hard my job is. Try approaching the established hydrogen industry with such a simple concept and you won't even get a foot in the door. They act as though you are insulting their intelligence by suggesting something so impossible. But at the same time it is something so damn simple that any chemist should know it. Of course you aren't taught it this way but that shouldn't matter. The facts are what they are and that simply doesn't change no matter how long you ignore them.
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Survey: MIT Graduate Students Survey of H2 Vehicles
We are a group of MIT Graduate students doing research into Hydrogen
Fuel Vehicles. This is to request your input for a term project on
Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars as part if the "15.828 New Product Development
Course". We have setup an online survey to gauge public response to
the concept of a Hydrogen car we have christened "Aspire"
So if you could please take the time to respond to the survey, I would
very much appreciate that.
1. The survey is available here: http://www.teamhydra.org/ (if that
link doesn't work an alternate URL is: www.seven360.com)
2. This survey is hosted on a home machine - so if it is unavailable
at some point, please could you take the time to try later.
Your input is VERY valuable and is much appreciated. My apologies
Hydrogen News Links:
(1) Wood Gas Powered Truck
http://www.motherearthnews.co...
Here is an article that appeared in the Mother Earth news way back in 1981. In it the construction and performance of a wood powered pickup truck is described alomg
with a wood gas powered 10,000 kw ac generator. So if you have a lot of wood this is something you could do NOW to escape high fuel and electricity prices. Such a
system might be ideal for small family farms and be an alternative to methane producing biodigesters.
(2) Scientists cite breakthrough in producing pure hydrogen
http://www.indystar.com/artic...
"Researchers at a government nuclear laboratory and a ceramics company in Salt Lake City say they have found a way to produce pure hydrogen with far less energy
than other methods" Oh, really? " The developers also said the hydrogen could be used by oil companies to stretch oil supplies even without solving the fuel cell and
transportation problems. Herring said the work showed the "highest-known production rate of hydrogen by high-temperature electrolysis." So electrolysis can be done
with less energy and H2 from water can stretch the world's energy supply? sounds like what I have been saying for years. "The new method involves running electricity
through water that has a high temperature. As the water molecule breaks up, a ceramic sieve separates the oxygen from the hydrogen." Large amounts of H2 produced
from water, on site, eliminates the need for an H2 distribution infrastructure, huh? Been saying that too. Nice the government nuke folks are finally catching on to my
ideas, isn't it? (ED.)
(3) Lunar Helium 3 Could Meet Earth's Energy Demands
http://science.slashdot.org/a...
"Helium 3, rare on the earth but abundant on the moon, may prove to be a feasible energy source with NASA's Moon-Mars initiative. Despite the American Physical
Society's Report that the initiative harms science, the moon may actually benefit humans because it contains 10 times more energy than all the fossil fuels on earth.
(4) Hydrogen System Approved At Chewonki
http://wiscassetnewspaper .mai...
The Maine State Fire Marshall's office and the Wiscasset Planning Board have given their approval to plans for a hydrogen demonstration system at The Chewonki
Foundation in Wiscasset, placing the state firmly on the map as a leader in renewable energy innovations and technology.
(Old friends of mine. ED.)
(5) State hopes to land big coal project
http://www.dailymail.com/news...
Congress has provided $18 million for a project meant to be the world's first coal-based, zero-emissions electricity and hydrogen power plant. West Virginia is among the
contenders to be the site of the plant, which has an estimated overall cost of $1 billion.
( Oh, water gas. So new. At least in 1890 it was new...ED.)
(6) U.S. Wind Farming, Inc. Has Entered into an Agreement to Develop a 100-Megawatt, Wind Energy Electric/Hydrogen
http://home.businesswire.com/...
U.S. Wind Farming, Inc. (Pink Sheets:USWF), "America's Only Publicly Traded Wind Energy Company," (www.uswindfarming.com) has entered into an agreement with
corporate partners to develop a new wind energy cooperative in Poland.
(7) Hydrogen leaves the lab ChevronTexaco building stations for fueling cars
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin...
In a corporate parking lot in Chino, ChevronTexaco Corp. is building what looks like a gas station. It isn't, at least not quite. When finished in February, the small
structure under a swooping canopy in the San Bernardino County town will dispense hydrogen for fueling experimental cars.
(8) Altair Nanotechnologies, University of Nevada Research Foundation and Hydrogen Solar LLC Lead Alternative Energ
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/04112...
Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc., in collaboration with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Research Foundation (UNLVRF) and Hydrogen Solar LLC, today announced the
consortium has received a $3 million grant award from the U.S.
(9) AEC Files Patents for its Hydrogen Production Technology
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/04112...
Today, Alternate Energy Corp. announced it has recently filed for provisional patents for its hydrogen production technology.
(10) Future cars may peddle electricity
http://www.detnews.com/2004/a...
Researcher says hydrogen-powered vehicles could sell excess power to utility companies. When and if the world ever changes from vehicles powered by internal
combustion engines to those powered by hydrogen fuel cells, your car may make money for you while it's parked.
(11) The Engine Looks Familiar, But It Runs on Hydrogen
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/1...
How to build an infrastructure of filling stations for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles? Design conventional internal combustion engines to use hydrogen, too.
( Like the Russian did back in the 1940's?)
(12) Hydrogen considered the fuel of the future for vehicles
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/bu...
Brightly colored signs and pennants flapping in the breeze are all the grandness that the opening of a new filling station usually warrants, but knots of government
officials attended elaborate ceremonies -- in Los Angeles, Washington and Berlin -- at three recent ribbon-cuttings.
(13) Hydrogen fuel could be wave of auto future Major companies are already gearing up for significant change
http://www.dailyreviewonline....,1413,88~10982~2549490,00 .html
The new pump at the Shell station in Washington doesn't look much different from the others, but it represents a new concept in automotive technology: hydrogen
power.
(14) Mooresville man pushes for hydrogen technology
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/...
Do you want to read more about hydrogen in The Charlotte Observer? If so, Mooresville hydrogen guru Stan Thompson has a postcard for you.
(15) MAZDA gets fired up on hydrogen
http://driving.timesonline.co...,,12389-1376162,00.html
Mazda is following BMW with a research programme looking into running today's engines on hydrogen.
(16) MILLIONS in funding headed to Lehigh Valley
http://www.mcall.com/news/loc...,0,5492408.story?coll=all-newslocal- hed
to pay for technologies to produce synthesis gas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) from natural gas in a single step, a key component of fuel cell development.
( More fun with water gas. ED.)
(17) AZURE Dynamics Delivers 1st of 30 Hybrids to Purolator
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
demonstration of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and on-site hydrogen production, storage ...
(18) China Unveils Energy-Saving Plan
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
China plans to double its energy consumption as its economy quadruples by 2020, officials said.
(19) Japan faces energy revolution
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
With Russia's recent ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the accord adopted at the Third Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in
December 1997 is finally to go into effect in February.
(20) Warning for business chiefs on weather upsets
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
Asia faces potentially drastic changes in rainfall patterns, heatwaves and the severity of tropical cyclones by the end of the century, a leading expert on climate change
will tell Asian chief executives today.
(21) PROPHET of oil-free future argues it's good business
http://www.indystar.com/artic...
... within a few decades: First, double the fuel efficiency of cars, trucks and airplanes; then replace gasoline with alternative fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen ...
(22) THE ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY DORM
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/...
Solar panels that heat water line the roof of one building, and a hydrogen fuel cell, which provides clean fuel to power the dorm, sits atop another roof. ...
(23) Birds Not Being Killed By Wind Farms - Ecologist
http://www.planetark.com/dail...
(24) Asia Faces Living Nightmare From Climate Change
http://www.planetark.com/dail...
(25) Arctic People Seek Tropical Team on Global Warming
http://www.planetark.com/dail...
(26) SOLAR Energy, Nanotechnology Hike Hydrogen Production
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,5273,00.html
NANOTECHNOLOGY IS LEADING the way for a British company, Hydrogen Solar,to convert light and water directly into hydrogen fuel. ...
(27) Syncrude Canada Gets OK For Clean Air Equipment
http://www.planetark.com/dail...
(28) TICONA Introduces First Engineering Thermoplastic Fuel Cell
http://www.jobwerx.com/news/t...
Each cell in a fuel cell stack has two bipolar plates and a polymer membrane ... Surface channels in the plates distribute hydrogen and air to the membrane between .
(29) FUEL Cells 2000 Releases the Eighth Edition of the Fuel Cell 2000's Fuel Cell Directory
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,5270,00.html
With 1,085 listings of the fuel cell industry.
(30) SOLAR Electrolyzer Focus of Hydrogen Research
http://www.renewableenergyacc...
Granted, the Bush Administration's Hydrogen Energy Initiative has been criticized for its frequent reliance on fossil ...
(31) Fuel cell sector set for massive growth
http://www.platinum.matthey.c...
Japanese market researcher Fuji Kaizai announced yesterday the findings of its report.
(32) Creating Hydrogen With (Very) Hot Water
http://slashdot.org/article.p...
(33) The promise: A hydrogen economy, the cost: more nuclear power
http://resourceinsights.blogs...
(34) Quasiturbine technology promises engine paradigm shift
http://gizmag.com/go/3501/
(35) Boyle's Law Experiment
http://www.psigate.ac.uk/road...
This interactive animation allows users to determine and explore Boyle's law, by looking at the relationship between pressure and volume of a number of gases (air,
hydrogen, helium and oxygen). The animation is supplied by Thomas J Greenbowe of Iowa State University Chemical Education Research Group. Macromedia flash is
required to view the simulation.
(36) Ford to make hydrogen engines soon
http://article.wn.com/link/WN...
(37) Hydrogen Storage Research Training Network
http://cerncourier.com/jobs/j...
Clean and plentiful energy: Utopian myth or technological reality? Hydrogen is touted by many as an environmentally benign solution to the impending energy crisis.
However, a major bottleneck is the lack of efficient hydrogen storage solutions. HyTRAIN is a Marie Curie Research Training Network established specifically to
address this challenge.
( If you store your H2 as water and release it at point of use you kind of solve the whole storage problem. ED.)
(38) Changing face of the family car
http://newstrove.com/cgi-bin/...://carsguide.news.com.au/news/story%5fpage/0,82 69,11493509%255E21822,00.html
(39) Global warming could hit hard in WNC
http://www.citizen-times.com/...
(40) End of Pennsylvania ice fishing in sight
http://pennlive.com/sports/pa...
Notice: For information on advertising rates or to make suggestions email me at: enki@chilitech.net All original material in this newsletter is
copyrighted by the source from which it originates. My story's are also copyrighted from the date they are published.
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| The Hydrogen News #23 |
| 11.22.04 (6:56 pm) |
Hydrogen For Today
By Mike Johnston
Copyright 2004
As you read through the news story's in this edition of the Hydrogen News you will see that there is a whole lot going on in the alternative fuels arena. Not just in Hydrogen either, ethanol, methanol and CNG are coming on strong as well as biodiesel and synthetic hydrocarbon fuels. The naysayers are still writing their doom and gloom " alternative energy will never be meaningful" stories and at the same time progress just churns right on past them. Germany is moving forward rapidly with their hydrogen program, in part because of BMW's dedication to hydrogen fueled ICE cars. Asian and Middle Eastern countries are moving off of the "oil standard" and China's cars get better fuel mileage than those in the US. What is wrong with this picture? America seems to be falling by the wayside. Could it have anything to do with the current administration's blind devotion to the status quo? What about their denial state over climate change? Their willingness to dismiss out of hand any science that doesn't fit into their preconceived notion of how "they" want reality to be? I predicted a long time ago that America would continue to lead the world in the development of new energy technologies but unfortunately would, at the same time, be almost dead last in implementing these technologies. Seems I was right.
For a long time I focused only on the production of H2 from water in my own research. Quite a bit of useful information came out of those efforts and the last several Hydrogen news issues have focused, in general terms, on that research. Of course I didn't invent the hydrocarbon reformer and quite honestly have ignored it in the past because it wasn't exactly what I wanted. The more that I think about it though the more it seems that we all really should stop and think about the potential benefits of that process. You see, whether the oil companies could have given us on-board reformers for our vehicles or on-site reformers for our home heating systems or for electric utilities for the last 100 years or so doesn't matter. They wanted to sell as much oil as they could and to use a reformer means that up to 50% of the energy comes from the hydrogen in the water/steam used in the process so you see why it would not have been in their best interest to promote or develop it. Does it matter that the resulting pollution is actually killing people in Urban areas? Nah, not so much. No more than it matters that smoking cigarettes kills. The educated consumer won't smoke and if people are too stupid to educate themselves to the dangers of smoking then it isn't the tobacco companies job to educate them is it? Why should the oil companies promote technologies that will save energy when their business is to sell energy? If we are too stupid to educate ourselves about the dangers of hydrocarbon use and about the potential energy saving methods that exist then it isn't their fault is it?
For those who want to stop being stupid I think that a good place to start learning about what is possible is with hydrocarbon reformers. If you think about it you realize that the reformer technology has been around for quite a while now. But no one ever developed it for consumer use. Why? Because when you use it you get half of your energy from the hydrogen that is released by the steam used in the reaction. That means you could by 50% less fuel. Not good in the minds of the oil companies is it? Of course you also emit 50% less pollution. But what would the oil companies care about that? You on the other hand might care about both of these things. If you use oil heat at home or own a big diesel truck or a small car it might be nice to save 50% of the money you spend on hydrocarbon fuels. Maybe you could use that money to take a vacation, put your kid through college or if you are a Senior Citizen on a fixed income perhaps you could use it to treat yourself to a Happy Meal once a week instead of your usual 9-Lives Seafood Surprise.
But I guess most people would rather give their money to the oil companies. It seems that way anyway as no one has bothered to develop this technology before. Do I think that is kind of weird? Yes, but the facts don't lie. The fact that this technology can work on board a vehicle has been shown recently by the Pacific Northwest Lab and by the US Navy who has had such a unit built for use on big diesel powered ships. And like I said you already have one of these (in another form) on your car now: the Catalytic Converter. See what suckers we all have been? Here is a way we could have been saving 50% of the oil we use and no one ever told us about it. We could extend the world's oil supply by 50% this way, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50%. But no one seems to want to talk about it or admit it. Instead we talk about how we can reduce emissions in other ways and save fuel in other ways anything so we don't have to talk about anything that will reduce the amount of oil we have to use. Strange how the direction of this whole discussion seems to be manipulated in only one direction, isn't it?
Want to know some other cool stuff you can do with this sort of technology? Ok, how about if we look at the old water gas reaction again. You remember that one, hot steam over coal, right? Ok well the products of that reaction are CO and H2. If we then react those products with each other we can produce methanol (alcohol). That is nice because the H2 and CO mix is a gas and sometimes inconvenient to store it that way and methanol is a liquid. IN fact it isn't hard to get a car to run on methanol and requires less modification than to get it to run on natural gas, syngas or an H2/CO mix (water gas). Isn't that interesting? From carbon (coal) and water we can produce a liquid fuel that could replace gasoline quite easily or use it as a gas and replace natural gas or even synthetically produce natural gas or gasoline from it. And yet we have oil shortages and high gas prices, makes you wonder why doesn't it?
Or how about in areas where there is no coal, what can we do there? How about using locally available resources? For example, vegetation can be used to produce biogas or wood gas. To do that we heat the plant in the absence of air. The result is that the carbohydrates (carbo-hydrate = hydro-carbon) in the plant break down into more simple hydrocarbons and the resulting gas can be used like natural gas. After you extract all of the bio/wood gas from the plant the remaining residue is almost pure carbon ( like charcoal ). And what can we do with carbon? React it with steam and produce H2 and CO as in the above example. Plants seem pretty versatile, don't they. There have been a lot of news stories recently regarding biogas production and using charred vegetable matter to produce H2 but none of them seem to connect the two as I have here. They also bill this stuff as "new" or "breakthrough" technology. Don't you believe it, all of the processes I am describing in this story have been around for a hundred years or more. FEMA even commissioned a paper on how to build a wood gas powered car in case of an oil shortage. You never read it though, did you. Also, there were cars during WW II which had their own biogas production units on board and produced the fuel as the cars drove along. That was sixty some years ago. But no one ever bothered to develop any of these fuel sources. Maybe now is the time to start paying attention? maybe now is the time for us to stop being so damned stupid and have an active part in determining our own future? I think so.
Story Related Links:
(1) http://www.woodgas.com/
(2) http://www.hotel.ymex.net/~s-20222/gengas/kg_eng.html
(3) http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/c...
(4) http://www.gengas.nu/byggbes/...
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Hydrogen News Links:
(1) Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation
http://www.dmfcc.com/
DMFCC has an option for intellectual property rights for direct methanol fuel cells, electrode construction, membrane electrode
assemblies, fuel cell systems, methanol sensor and filter, methanol fuel cartridges, and electrolysis of methanol to form hydrogen.
(2) ARGY Converts Generator to Run on Hydrogen!
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/04110...
Yesterday after the markets closed, the company issued a press release announcing that it has completed the first phase of its back-up
power product initiative by successfully converting an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) generator to run on hydrogen.
(3) 'Hydrogen highway' bad route, group says
http://www.oaklandtribune.com...,1413,82~1865~2547873,00.html
A report by a libertarian think tank seeks to debunk Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans for a "hydrogen highway" by claiming hydrogen-
fueled vehicles will make little difference in reducing harmful emissions.
( Only if H2 is produced exclusively from hydrocarbons, if H2 is produced from water or by steam reforming of hydrocarbons the pollution
is dramatically reduced or eliminated. ED.)
(4) Use hydrogen to generate power
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp...
The article describes very well the lack of political leadership that has characterized energy planning in Ontario during the past 10 or 15
years. As Ontario Power Generation chairman Jake Epp well says, coal plants are not suitable to be turned on and shut off at will.
(5) Hydrogen could soon power portable devices
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/d...
Battery technology for portable computers has advanced little since rechargeable lithium-ion batteries arrived in the mid-1990s. Now it
appears the next step could be hydrogen fuel cells based on metal hydrides or methanol.
(6) NZ scientists find a substitute for oil
http://news.newkerala.com/ind...
Scientsists at New Zealand's state- owned Industrial Research Ltd (IRL) have found a method of purifying hydrogen, using ironsands,
which may help the world to develop a clean-burning replacement for oil.
( This is not new. The reaction is like the steam over coal reaction. In this case you end up with H2 from the water and FeO3 (rust) from
the iron.)
(7) President Bush s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative in Danger of Stalling
http://www.aiada.org/article....
On the road to a hydrogen economy: Honda has leased twelve of their FCX hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles to several Califiornia cities
and New York State.
( So make on-board reformers for ICE cars and cut fuel use and pollutiong emissions by 50%. No, that's too easy I guess ED.)
(8) City bus conversion plan gets green light from councillors
http://www.ancasternews.com/N...
The push to convert Hamilton's buses to compressed hydrogen gas fuel buses has skidded off the road. Members of the public works,
infrastructure and environment committee agreed this week to purchase 14 diesel-powered buses at a cost of about $3.6 million.
( Goodbye hydrogen road, where the dogs of society howl, you can't trap me in your penthouse... Come on, lets stop trying to push fuel
cells so hard and go to a technology that will work: retrofit reformers. The perfect bridge to the H2 economy. ED.)
(9) Honda Delivers Hydrogen-Powered FCX Fuel Cell Car to City of Chula Vista
http://www.aiada.org/article....
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today the delivery of a Honda FCX, the world’s most advanced hydrogen-powered fuel cell
vehicle, to the city of Chula Vista.
( Fine, use fuel cells where the H2 fuel is available and reformers where it isn't. ED.)
(10) Honda and Plug Power Announce Experimental Operation of Second-Generation Hydrogen Refueling Station
http://www.aiada.org/article....
Honda R&D Americas and Plug Power Inc. today announced that they have began successful operation of the second-generation Home
Energy Station (HES II) located at Plug Power’s corporate headquarters in Latham, New York.
(11) AUSTRALIA: Holden boosts hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain research
http://www.just-auto.com/news...
Holden is claiming an Australian automotive first for its joint research programme with CSIRO to explore future global powertrain
technologies. The programme will contribute to parent company General Motors goal to design and develop hybrid and hydrogen-
powered fuel cell vehicles.
(12) Samsung Engineering Develops Hydrogen-Powered Scooter
http://au.news.yahoo.com/0411...
Samsung Engineering Co. (KSE:028050) said Thursday it has conducted a successful test-ride of a hydrogen-powered motorcycle.
( I still want to build an H2 Harley. :-) ED.)
(13) Research May Lead To Improved Fuel Cell Design
http://www.sciencedaily.com/r...
A University of Alberta research team has provided scientists with the first internal images throughout an operating hydrogen fuel cell,
paving the way for design improvements and increased efficiency.
(14) Stepping on the gas
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lif...,12981,1353272,00.html
Bravo for covering this important issue (Tomorrow's petrol is a gas, November 11). Hydrogen power is likely to be the best way to clean
the environment without restricting economic progress.
(15) GE to Lead Federal Hydrogen Fuel Research
http%3A//www.masshightech.com/displayarticledetail.asp?Art_ID=67183
GE Global Research, the Fairfield, Conn.-based research arm of General Electric Co., has been selected by the Department of Energy
to lead a combined $11 million in three research projects on the development of hydrogen as a fuel source.
( Another example of the Military/Industrial complex at it's most obvious. GE is a big military contractor. ED.)
(16) Wind Energy Cooperatives to Produce Electricity and Hydrogen for the Residential, Commercial and Transportation Sectors
http://home.businesswire.com/...
U.S. Wind Farming, Inc. will install the "Next Generation" of Integrated Renewable Energy Systems utilizing Decentralized Hydrogen
Technology.
(17) The Chewonki Foundation
http://business.mainetoday.co...
The Chewonki Foundation has started construction on a $240,000 demonstration pro- ject designed to use renewable energy to
generate hydrogen and power fuel cells for electricity production.
(18) Efficient Infrastructure Necessary for Large-Scale Implementation of Alternative Fuel Technologies
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi...
Although regulatory pressures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are calling for increased use of alternative fuels such as natural
gas, hydrogen and methanol, the lack of adequate infrastructure limits their implementation on a wide scale.
(19) Hy-Drive(TM) Technologies Engages Toronto-Based Mass Engineered Design
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/0411...
Hy-Drive Technologies Ltd. , the energy technologies innovator and developer of the patented Hydrogen Generating System , has
announced that the company has engaged the services of Mass Engineered Design, Inc. a Toronto-based product design and
development firm.
( Surprise, their on-board electrolyzer doesn't work as well as claimed. I offered to help them redesign it but they said no.Their loss. ED.)
(20) Weighing the pros and cons of going green
http://thestar.com.my/lifesty...
The road-map towards sustainable mobility currently focuses on improving the traditional internal combustion engine to consume and emit less, switching to cleaner
fuels (better quality diesel, natural gas, biofuels and electricity) and using advanced powertrains (hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell technology).
( Let's see, pros of going green: livable world. Not going green: dead world. Boy that is a tough one, isn't it? ED.)
(21) IndiaDaily - Indian Electric, Hydrogen and Solar powered cars in Europe and America! A major technological breakthrough?
http://www.indiadaily.com/edi...
Microsoft runs to India for cover - plans to expand heavily - flag for end of IT boom? After distributing unprecedented amount of Cash ($3 per share), Microsoft finally
joined the band wagon of US IT companies running for cover to India.
( Getting kind of smug aren't they? ED.)
(22) Entrepreneurs look to future of hydrogen fuel
http://www.dailypennsylvanian...
Most college freshmen do not spend the summer on their 13-foot Boston Whaler, chasing big storms on the Atlantic Ocean. But for College freshman Joseph Sahid,
founder of the Hydrogen Expedition, it's all in a day's research.
(23) Fill It Up With Hydrogen
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/art...,1564,1396039,00.html
Drivers in Berlin can fill up their cars with hydrogen at the world's largest service station for fuel cell vehicles. Opened on Friday, the project paves the way for
widespread use of alternative energy.
(24) Pall Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Grant For Hydrogen Fuel Initiative
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/04111...
Pall Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a grant from the United States Department of Energy to support the government's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative.
The $2.4 million grant will be used to further develop Pall's hydrogen separation membrane technology that will enable the low cost, large-scale production of purified
hydrogen.
(25) Hydrogen fuel firms agree to merge
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp...
Hydrogenics Corp., in a bid to bolster its presence in the emerging hydrogen and fuel-cell market, offered yesterday to acquire Mississauga neighbour Stuart Energy
Systems Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at $155 million.
(26) Ford chairman calls for U.S. aid with health care, hydrogen cars
http://www.kansascity.com/mld...
Bill Ford, Ford Motor Co.'s chairman and chief executive officer, called Wednesday for federal help with health-care costs and the development of hydrogen-powered
vehicles.
( poor Ford, having trouble paying the bills I guess. ED.)
(27) Fusion reactor decision must wait
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/clic...
Six nations planning to build the world's biggest nuclear fusion reactor fail to agree where to site the facility.
( Can these world leader types ever decide ANYTHING? Let's see, Mayonaise or Miracle Whip....I just don't know.... ED.)
(28) Sandia, Stirling to build solar dish engine power plant
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
The National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories is joining forces with Stirling Energy Systems, Inc. (SES) of Phoenix to build and test six
new solar dish-engine systems for electricity generation that will provide enough grid-ready solar electricity to power more than 40 homes
(29) Rockford Airport's Renewable Hydrogen Project Releases Request for Qualifications
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/04110...
The Greater Rockford Airport Authority intends to select a qualified firm or team for the purpose of providing planning, design/build and ongoing operational management
for the Northwest Chicagoland Airport Renewable Hydrogen Project at the Northwest Chicagoland Regional Airport in Rockford, IL.
(30) Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells Demystified in New Book for Non-Scientists
http://www.theautochannel.com...
LOVELAND, Colo., Nov. 9, 2004 -- Pound for pound, pure liquid hydrogen has nearly three times more energy than gasoline.
(31) Linde Sponsors Biohydrogen Research
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Linde AG, an international technology group, is sponsoring research into the biological production of hydrogen by microalgae. Linde Gas and Engineering, one of the
group’s two primary lines of business, is focusing strongly on hydrogen production.
(32) New MN Biodiesel Refinery
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
The Minnesota Farmers Union Marketing and Processing Association (FUMPA) is opening a 2.8-million gallon per year biodiesel refinery early next month at its
Central Bi-Products rendering plant in North Redwood, MN.
( Go farmers! Small scale farming has been going down the tubes for years, a fuel producing co-op could really help to bring farming back into profit. ED.)
(33) Climate Change: Now, Not in the Future
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Two major reports assessing climate change and its current and future effects on the US and the world have been published in the last few days.
( US Official says: "We won't let science get in OUR way". ED.)
(34) Chinese Fuel Economy Standards and the Automakers
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Overall, the Chinese fuel economy standards are slightly more stringent than the current regulations in the U.S. To meet Chinese standards, the US fleet average fuel
economy would need to increase by 5% 2005 standards and by 10% for the 2008 standards.
(35) Westport Providing H2 Injectors for BMW
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Westport Innovations has signed a new agreement with BMW to continue to develop and to supply hydrogen gas injection components to support BMW’s work on H2
combustion engines (H2ICE).
(36) Startup for Major Canadian Biomass-to-Ethanol Plant
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
MEMS USA, and Accelon Energy Systems have created Can-Am Ethanol, a joint venture to create, build and run a major biomass-to-ethanol processing plant in
Canada.
(37) Bootstrapping Biodiesel
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Peterborough, NH, selectmen have approved a local company’s plan to produce biodiesel fuel so the town can use the cleaner fuel mixture.
(38) Shell Coal-to-Liquids Project in China
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
China’s largest coal producer and Royal Dutch/Shell are in a 9-month feasibility study exploring the development of more coal-to-liquids plants in China. Earlier this
year, China announced a $6 billion coal-to-liquids development project with Sasol.
( Synthetic gasoline and diesel. :-) ED.)
(39) Queen Anne's County Goes Biodiesel
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Queen Anne’s County, Md, is using a $100,000 state grant to offset the cost of switching its fleet of 180 vehicles, including 20-county-owned school buses, to using
B20 soy biodiesel.
( The times they are a changin'..... ED.)
(40) H2 Generation and Fueling at Home: Honda's Home Energy System II
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Honda R&D Americas and Plug Power have began successful operation of their 2nd-generation prototype home hydrogen system, the Home Energy Station II (HES II).
HES II is the latest evolution of a joint development effort by Honda and Plug Power to produce a home system that generates hydrogen from natural gas for use in fuel
cell vehicles while supplying electricity and hot water to the home. Testing of the HES II system will be done in conjunction with demonstration of Honda’s 2005 FCX
fuel cell car on public roads in the Northeastern U.S.
( YEAH BABY!!!! Watch this, bookmark it, don't let it get away. The future is NOW. Of course reformers could still play a big role... ED.)
(41) Renewable Natural Gas? The Discovery of Active Methane Biogenesis in Coalbeds
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Researchers at Luca Technologies, a biotech firm focused on energy solutions, have announced the discovery of evidence pointing to ongoing, realtime natural gas
generation by anaerobic (living without oxygen) bacteria resident deep in coal fields in Wyoming.
(42) Ozone Kills
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
A study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association links short-term peaks in air ozone levels to short-term peaks in premature death rates
in urban areas in the US.
( Remember, reformer technology has been around for a very long time, just not implemented. How many lives have been lost to protect oil company profits? ED.)
(43) Pay-per-Mile in California?
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
As Californians drive increasingly more fuel-efficient cars, state officials are alarmed that the gasoline tax will not raise enough money to keep up with road needs. As
a result, California is considering replacing its state gas tax ($0.18/gallon) with a tax on every mile traveled by each car and truck. Devices placed on every vehicle
would track where, how far and when vehicles travel.
(44) E-Diesel for Refuse Fleet
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
E.J. Harrison & Sons, a refuse truck fleet operator based in California, is switching to O2Diesel’s (earlier post) ethanol-diesel blend. The year-long program, funded
under the terms of O2Diesel’s subcontract with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), commenced with 14 trucks running on O2Diesel, with the bulk of
the 120 vehicles to be brought on in a few weeks.
(45) Thailand's $3.2B Biodiesel Program
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
The Thai Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives are working on a plan to invest about 130 billion baht ($3.2 billion) in palm plantations and 30
biodiesel refineries for which oil palms will be used as the feedstock. The government plans to use the biodiesel in a B10 blend for domestic fueling to reduce the cost
of its oil imports.
(46) United Arab Emirates Moving to CNG Vehicles
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
The UAE Emirate of Sharjah is phasing in CNG vehicles in its public fleets and then for residents.
( Middle Eastern Countries are switching off of liquid petroleum?!? Must be worse than we thought... ED.)
Notice: For information on advertising rates or to make suggestions email me at: en-@chilitech.net All original material in this newsletter is
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For those interested in having me act as a media consultant or project advisor please email me at the same address with a short description of the project.
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| The Hydrogen News # 22 |
| 11.07.04 (3:28 pm) |
The Hydrogen News # 22
On Being An Educated Consumer In The Coming Hydrogen Economy With Examples Of The Possibilities Involved
By Mike Johnston
Copyright 2004
Hydrogen energy might be, should be the next major advance in the evolution of our civilization. Other such moments have occurred throughout history and have always brought about significant changes across the economic spectrum from the way that commercial energy is produced to the way that energy is utilized by the consumer. Maybe the first such shift came after human beings (or their immediate precursors ) discovered how to use the energy of fire. Suddenly there was hot food and warm shelters Leisure time increased, whole new occupations were created such as keeper of the flame and wood gatherer. More recently we have seen the dawn of the coal age which spawned widespread use of steam power made possible the industrial revolution of the last two centuries. And finally the use of fossil fuels which gave individuals the freedom to travel faster, farther and more economically than ever before and gave industry these same advantages when shipping it's products. All of these new energy sources or methods to make use of energy have without doubt brought about major changes in the everyday lives of most of the people in the world.
None of these other advances was heralded by as much hype and pre-planning as the anticipated shift to hydrogen energy. No one set out to plan the steam age before the technology was available, instead advances in technology were made by individuals and when the marketplace saw the benefits and advantages offered by these developments they eagerly made use of them and a new age was born. Refinement of these systems has continued right on down to the present and the energy system of the world today is still the same one that has served us so well for the last 200 years. Coal is still used to fuel many electrical generation plants and steam, produced from water by the heat released by the oxidation of coal ( C + O2 --- CO2 ), provides the force to turn the turbines of these power plants.
The hydrogen economy is different though. The fact that hydrogen energy is possible has been known for over 100 years and hydrocarbons such as gasoline are really nothing more than hydrogen fuel stored on carbon atoms. But no one really ever tried to develop hydrogen energy for widespread use. Mr. Grove inventred fuel cells in the mid 1800's but other than being power sources for NASA satellites no practical applications were developed for the consumer market. The reasons for this are varied but the primary one is probably that, since hydrocarbons were readily available, why bother with hydrogen? It is easier to store hydrogen which is already bound to carbon atoms and less expensive to produce (by some methods). So why bother with hydrogen now? And why put so much emphasis on fuel cells, as though they were the only way to utilize hydrogen fuel? Are there other ways to use hydrogen fuel? Sure, any engine that can use hydrocarbon fuels can be adapted to use hydrogen fuel as a primary or supplemental fuel.
Why do we keep hearing that hydrogen energy is so difficult to produce and store that hydrogen fuel will not be widely available for another 20 years? If you want to be brutally honest it is in part because the same friendly corporations who now sell you gasoline would like to sell you hydrogen and the business model that they use is based on a large scale production, distribution and storage network which will be hard to replicate using gaseous hydrogen. But again, that is not the only way to do it and my reason for writing this story is to shed some light on other methods and on ways to increase the viability of these methods. After all, business is about competition and competition revolves around doing something better and more economically than the competition can do it. So if someone wants to market alternative pathways to the hydrogen energy goal then as consumers it is our duty to examine all that is being offered and to choose the path that is most beneficial for ourselves on an individual basis. With that in mind I offer the following story on hydrogen fuel.
In the last issue of this newsletter I made the assertion that is is possible to produce hydrogen fuel using less energy than the amount that can be produced by combining hydrogen with oxygen. To many people this will seem obvious and they would cite the old "dissolving Al foil in lye water" experiment as an example. That is a fine example as the aluminum dissolves as it is attacked by the negatively charged OH ions in the lye water solution producing AlO3 and H2 gas. So that hydrogen is produced without any energy being added to the system. The only problem is that the aluminum has to dissolve in the process and this raises a lot of cost issues. It does however allow you to store your hydrogen fuel on oxygen atoms until you are ready to use it, much the same way that hydrogen atoms are stored on carbon atoms in hydrocarbon fuels until we are ready to use them. That is an interesting concept in my opinion: using water as a storage medium for hydrogen energy. Just like hydrocarbons, water is widely available and easy to store and transport compared to gaseous hydrogen fuel.
Let's take the battery concept a bit further. Here is a good science fair project for some enterprising kid. Consider flashlight batteries, A zinc case is filled with an electrolyte paste and a depolarizer. The zinc serves as the anode of the cell and a carbon rod in the center of the battery as the cathode. When the battery is being used the zinc case is attacked by the electrolyte and oxidized. Electrons that are liberated by this reaction follow the wire that connects the terminals of the battery, through the electrical load and then enter the solution at the cathode. At the surface of the cathode H2 gas is produced. According to Faraday's laws of electrolysis an amount of H2 is produced that is equal to the amount of current which flows. For every electron that enters the cathode one atom of hydrogen is created. As long as the battery is used the hydrogen keeps on being created. That is why the power of batteries decreases over time with constant use.
Once you turn your flashlight off the hydrogen that has been accumulating is converted into water due to the action of a depolarizer which is included in the electrolyte solution for just this purpose. That is why, after a while when you turn the flashlight on again the lightbulb burns brightly. It hasn't recharged itself, that is impossible, but the hydrogen which accumulated at the cathode and lessened it's surface area and therefore it's current carrying ability has been converted back into water in the electrolyte. So if you were to scoop that H2 out of the battery after you turn it off you would have useable hydrogen fuel left over after the battery has performed it's function. Interesting.
Now consider the experiment that I described in the last issue. I had 6 electrolysis cells being powered by a 6 volt zinc/carbon battery. That would be fine as an Illustration but let's simplify it a bit more for illustrative purposes and say we have one 1.5 volt battery powering one electrolysis cell. We will say that the battry can produce .5 amps of current and that the electrolysis cell can pass that much current. So we have the battery producing 1.5v x .5a = .75 watts of power.And we have the electrolysis cell using (assuming a 1.5 volt drop between the electrodes) 1.5v x .5a + .75 watts of power. So all of the energy produced by the battery is being used by the electrolysis cell according to commonly used electrical theory. The energy that the electrolysis cell uses is assumed to be stored in the form of the H2 gas that is produces.
That is all well and good until we add in the H2 that is produced by the battery as a byproduct of it's operation (as outlined above). Suddenly we have DOUBLE the H2 that was produced in the electrolysis cell and therefore we should have double the energy that was originally supplied by the battery. Is this the case? Well, if we use that H2 fuel to power 2 fuel cells at .5a for the same amount of time we have .8v of power per cell under load or 1.6 volts x .5a = .8 watts of power being produced. That is more energy out than in but not double the original amount. That is because we are reacting the H2 with O2 in the fuel cell. If you were to react it with O3 or Flourine the "extra" power produced would be significantly larger. The conclusion is that the hydrogen produced is not an energy storage medium for the energy used to produce it but is a by-product of the chemical reaction that produces it as Michael Faraday said it was.
Another thing that I mentioned in the last newsletter was that it takes less energy to produce hydrogen by the steam reformation process or the water gas process than is released when hydrogen is combined with O2. One way to make use of this might be to burn H2 and O2 together to create steam at a temp of almost 6000 devgrees farenheit and inject some more water into this steam bringing the overall temp down to 3000 degrees. Then we run the steam through a turbine/generator and produce electricity. Once the steam has produced electricity for us and lost some of it's heat it comes off the turbine and (assuming we still have it at 1800 degrees farenheit) we pass it through hot carbon and the steam splits into H2 and CO. But again we get more H2 out of the process than we put into it because we added some extra water into the steam that was produced by the original H2/O2 combustion reaction. Plus we used the steam to produce electricity along the way. Nice overall energy gain there throughout the process.
Finally let's have a look at reformers. They have been in the news quite a bit recently. What happens is that a (hot) stream of a hydrocarbon and water are passed over a catalyst bed and the oxygen from the water combines with the carbon from the hydrocarbon creating CO and both the water and the hydrocarbon release their hydrogen atoms. So you get 50% of your H2 from the hydrocarbon and 50% from the water. This effectively doubles the energy of the hydrocarbon. The CO can remain in the gas created and also burn as a fuel. The reason that the reactants have to be hot is that carbon needs to be heated before it will react. consider the process of lighting a coal stove, you use a match to heat the coal until it starts to react with oxygen from the atmosphere. After that the C + O2 reaction creates enough energy to make the reaction self sustaining.
The reformer process has been known and used by oil refineries for years and years. No matter that a company just completed a 5 year 25 million dollar project to build a reformer for the US Navy (which costs 200,000 $ per unit) to produce H2 from diesel and water to supplement the fuel of big diesel ships (fuel is mix of diesel and reformed diesel and water). This will extend the range of the ships by reducing the amount of hydrocarbon fuel used. This can be adapted to diesel trucks and gasoline cars as well. Want a way to cut your fuel bills in half? Here it is. But you don't have $200,000 for such a unit? No problem, I'll tell you how to build one out of junk yard parts for $200 or less. Hey, what are friends for?
You already have a reformer you know. You just don't realize that you have one. What is it? The catalytic converter on your car. Yep, with a few simple modifications the hydrocarbon cracker under your car could function as a reformer and cut your fuel bills in half. ;-) You see all you would have to do is get a converter, then some pipes and tubes. Now, you divert a bit of your exhaust stream to run through this converter. The exhaust will heat up the reformer and after that it will get more heat from doing it's normal job (yes, the C + O or C + O2 or CO + O reactions are exothermic releasing around 53.7 kcal of energy per mole ) so the reformer process is also exothermic and can provide enough heat on it's own to heat the hydrocarbon/water stream. So anyway, then you connect two tubes into the inlet side of the converter (one for water and the other for your hydrocarbon) and then connect the outlet to your engine either through the intake or modified injectors (there are several systems available to let your car run on combination liquid/gaseous fuels) and you are good to go. Ok, so this is a bit vague and might need some work but overall it is accurate and would be something great to develop.
These are some of the avenues that you the consumer should be aware of in the coming H2 economy but ones that big oil will never explain to you in this way? Why not? Because it shoots them in the foot and that is not good business for them. They will present to you the technology that they want you to use. It is going to be up to small companies and maverick researchers to bring you the rest. And up to you to educate yourself enough to know what is really possible.
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Hydrogen News Links:
(1) NineSigma Innovation Newsletter
http://www.ninesigma.com
Here is an interesting website for innovative readers. They put out a newsletter that has in it announcements by various companies who
are looking for someone to develop some product, device or process for them . Companies such as Proctor and Gamble, General Motors, etc.
(2) Windships Have Arrived!
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com...
Harry Braun has been promoting the idea of using ships at sea to produce hydrogen by electrolysis using wind energy for years now. His Phoenix Project book and
website outline the concept. Seems that someone has finally decided to build one. I wonder if Harry gets a mention or any royalties...?
(3) Colorado voters back renewable energy measure
http://www.planetark.com/dail...
(4) Global Ideas Bank
http://www.globalideasbank.or...
I like this website too. Just a bunch of folks from all over the world sharing ideas on how to make things better. :-)
(5) Ballard Power loss widens
http://www.theglobeandmail.co...
(6) Avista fuel-cell spinoff attracts $25 million
http://seattletimes.nwsource....
During blackouts, the fuel cells run on hydrogen bottles that have to be replaced every eight hours.
(7) IdaTech unveils fuel cell system
http://www.idahostatesman.com...
The entire fuel cell system, including reformer and hydrogen purification module, is about the size of a large lunch box, measuring about 12-by-8-by-6 inches.
(8) Energy Efficiency Creates New Business Opportunities
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
The Asahi Shimbun, 3 November 2004 - With the Kyoto Protocol on global warming likely to come into force soon, discussion on implementing an
environment tax has gone into high gear. European nations already have such a tax, but Japan postponed adopting one even though the issue
was the subject of considerable debate over the past few years.
(9) Emissions impossible?
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
Industry has much to do when it comes to improving energy efficiency. Louise Tickle on the good, the bad and
the indifferent.
(10) Guess Who Extreme Weather Hits Hardest?
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
Africa News, 2 November 2004 - When it rains, it really pours on the world's poorest. ( Of course this could also mean that Africa and the Middle East will again
become the world's breadbasket... Climate scientists are already predicting this outcome. ED.)
(11) Arctic ice to melt in summer this century unless greenhouse gases curbed
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
The Arctic ice cover will completely disappear in summer by the end of this century unless carbon dioxide emissions are significantly reduced, according to a scientific
study to be released next week.
(12) Global Warming May Stymie Development
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
South African government's strategy for responding to a hotter world does not go far enough' expert.
(13) A turning point for Kyoto?
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
There was a giddy alcoholic theme to the announcement the Russian Duma has ratified the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. ( Giddy alcoholic theme? This sounds
like a job for me! So 'cmon everybody...hehe Ed.)
(14) Environment the star student at this dorm
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/...
Mallory Giaccone transferred to the University of South Carolina this semester looking for something new, and found it in an environmentally friendly dorm that boasts
solar-heated water and electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell.
(15) Chemical cars peel rubber
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/s...
Can a car really run on beef liver and hydrogen peroxide? How about baking soda and vinegar?
(16) Casio Develops Smallest Fuel Cell for Laptop PCs
http://www.mobilemag.com/cont...
Casio has developed the world's smallest fuel cell for use in laptops and aims to market it in 2007. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell, which is being developed for use in
automobiles and home appliances, has been miniaturized to almost the same size as a conventional lithium ion battery.
(17) Raw sewage can now turn into raw power
http://www.isa.org/Template.c...
A new device, called a microbial fuel cell, not only treats wastewater, but also provides a clean energy source, said researchers at Pennsylvania State University.
(18) Bush, oil batter clean energy stocks
http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/...
Shares of alternative energy companies took a one-two punch this week when President Bush was re-elected and oil prices tumbled back near $49 a barrel.
( So the oil companies kept prices artificially high until their cantidate got elected? Wow, reward and punishment for the voters. We're Pavlovian dogs folks. ED.)
(19) Hydrogen fuel used to teach
http://www.ledger-enquirer.co...
The same technology that has developed fuel cell cars like the Honda Hybrid or the Lexus RX400 Hybrid, can be used to provide electrical power or heat to a home.
(20) Bush plans could mean cheaper fuel
http://www.usatoday.com/money...
George Bush, an oilman, could wind up a sort of fuel-economy and alternative-fuel president. He's already boosted mileage requirements for trucks 7%, to an average
22.2 miles per gallon for 2007 models. He's committed $1.7 billion to hydrogen-fuel research.
(21) BMW’s Hydrogen and Clean Energy Strategy
http://www.carlist.com/autone...
BMW is creating a hydrogen internal combustion engine. They have documented their vision of the future. It is a long paper, authored by BMW, but it is an important
piece to read.
(22) Jadoo Receives First DOT Approval to Transport Hydrogen-Based Storage System via Air Cargo
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/0...
Jadoo Power Systems, Inc , a leading provider of portable power products, announced today that it has received the first exemption granted by the US Department of
Transportation to transport Jadoo's storage system containing hydrogen absorbed in metal hydride via air cargo.
(23) Joint agreement could put gator in war zone
http://www.miami.com/mld/miam...
War zones around the world may someday be crawling with Gators.
(24) Depletion of oil and gas: 'Think out-of-the box' It's time for an alternative fuel
http://www.newstodaynet.com/3...
The era of human development with oil and gas as energy source is nearing its end and in the next 30-40 years, there will be a 'clean break' to produce energy from
renewable, non-fossil fuels, mostly from hydrogen.
(25) Princeton farmer uses natural methane gas to heat farm
http://www.aberdeennews.com/m...
Dennis Haubenschild has figured out how to heat his Princeton farm with the methane gas that naturally comes from cow manure. Now he's starting his second
alternative energy project: a fuel cell that generates electricity using hydrogen made from methane.
(26) INEEL develops clean hydrogen power from dirty diesel
http://localhost/apwirefe ed/d...
(27) GTI Converts Ethanol into Hydrogen
http://www.aiada.org/article....
Ethanol produced from corn grown in the Midwest could be providing hydrogen for the fuel cell vehicles of tomorrow. Gas Technology Institute (GTI) announced today
that its two-step steam reforming-shift fuel processor can efficiently convert ethanol into hydrogen.
(28) Farmers may someday 'grow' hydrogen for energy use
http://www.theprairiestar.com...
We're not there yet, but farmers may someday grow crops that can be turned efficiently into hydrogen and used in fuel cells. Ethanol, biodiesel, methane, wind power
or even biomass can all be converted into hydrogen - the energy needed to run fuel cells.
(29) Mazda tests gas-hydrogen sports car
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6...
Mazda's H2RE vehicle is based on a RX-8 sports car and let's the driver switch between hydrogen or gasoline as the fuel.
(30) INEEL reports hydrogen fuel breakthrough
http://www.journalnet.com/art...
For years, the idea of converting diesel fuel into clean hydrogen gas was a science-fiction pipe dream. (Actually the hydrocarbon reformer process has been around for
many years.)
(31) Kitakyushu energy technology expo begins
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/c...
A next-generation energy exhibition kicked off Wednesday in Kitakyushu, featuring technologies that can convert hydrogen and biomass into energy.
(32) Westport Announces Results of Hydrogen Enriched Natural Gas Bus Program
http://www.bctechnology.com/s...
Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT) announced the final results of a demonstration of buses fuelled with a blend of hydrogen and compressed natural gas known as
HCNG.
(33) Army tests fuel cell surveillance vehicle
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6...
Dubbed the Aggressor, this off-road vehicle built for the U.S. Army runs on hydrogen and a fuel cell stack. Suppose you could build an off-road vehicle that's twice as
quick as traditional ones, operates silently and can even be used as a generator.
(34) PSU puts focus on hydrogen energy
http://www.centredaily.com/ml...
Amid a growing demand for clean energy sources and greater energy independence, Penn State on Monday held its second annual Hydrogen Energy Day, showcasing
the work university researchers are doing in the field.
(35) Air Products set to reap hydrogen windfall
http://www.mcall.com/news/loc...,0,6185923.story?coll=all-news-hed
It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a hydrogen researcher to realize that a fuel-cell boom would pay off big for Air Products and Chemicals.
(36) Flex Fuel Zooms in Brazil
http://www.reuters.com/newsAr...
Brazil has seen a stunning ramp up in the sales of flex-fuel cars—vehicles that burn either ethanol, gasoline or a combination of the two.
(37) Somerville, MA Converts to Biodiesel
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
The city of Somerville, Ma, has converted more than 80 of its large city-owned vehicles to run on a B20 biodiesel blend instead of petroleum-based diesel. The biodiesel
powers city-owned garbage trucks, construction and hauling vehicles, sewer maintenance equipment, forestry equipment and several school buses.
(38) Thermoelectric Systems for Greener Vehicles
http://www.greencarcongress.c...
Thermoelectric materials—materials that exploit a phenomenon in which the application of heat to combinations of certain metals induces an electric current—are
emerging as potentially important systems for increasing fuel efficiency and decreasing emissions...and maybe even as a wildcard solution for propulsion in the future.
(39) Green Energy Jobs by Email
http://www.greenenergyjobs.co...
Notice: For information on advertising rates or to make suggestions email me at: enki@chilitech.net All original material in this newsletter is
copyrighted by the source from which it originates. My story's are also copyrighted from the date they are published.
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| The Hydrogen News # 22 |
| 11.07.04 (3:26 pm) |
The Hydrogen News # 22
On Being An Educated Consumer In The Coming Hydrogen Economy With Examples Of The Possibilities Involved
By Mike Johnston
Copyright 2004
Hydrogen energy might be, should be the next major advance in the evolution of our civilization. Other such moments have occurred throughout history and have always brought about significant changes across the economic spectrum from the way that commercial energy is produced to the way that energy is utilized by the consumer. Maybe the first such shift came after human beings (or their immediate precursors ) discovered how to use the energy of fire. Suddenly there was hot food and warm shelters Leisure time increased, whole new occupations were created such as keeper of the flame and wood gatherer. More recently we have seen the dawn of the coal age which spawned widespread use of steam power made possible the industrial revolution of the last two centuries. And finally the use of fossil fuels which gave individuals the freedom to travel faster, farther and more economically than ever before and gave industry these same advantages when shipping it's products. All of these new energy sources or methods to make use of energy have without doubt brought about major changes in the everyday lives of most of the people in the world.
None of these other advances was heralded by as much hype and pre-planning as the anticipated shift to hydrogen energy. No one set out to plan the steam age before the technology was available, instead advances in technology were made by individuals and when the marketplace saw the benefits and advantages offered by these developments they eagerly made use of them and a new age was born. Refinement of these systems has continued right on down to the present and the energy system of the world today is still the same one that has served us so well for the last 200 years. Coal is still used to fuel many electrical generation plants and steam, produced from water by the heat released by the oxidation of coal ( C + O2 --- CO2 ), provides the force to turn the turbines of these power plants.
The hydrogen economy is different though. The fact that hydrogen energy is possible has been known for over 100 years and hydrocarbons such as gasoline are really nothing more than hydrogen fuel stored on carbon atoms. But no one really ever tried to develop hydrogen energy for widespread use. Mr. Grove inventred fuel cells in the mid 1800's but other than being power sources for NASA satellites no practical applications were developed for the consumer market. The reasons for this are varied but the primary one is probably that, since hydrocarbons were readily available, why bother with hydrogen? It is easier to store hydrogen which is already bound to carbon atoms and less expensive to produce (by some methods). So why bother with hydrogen now? And why put so much emphasis on fuel cells, as though they were the only way to utilize hydrogen fuel? Are there other ways to use hydrogen fuel? Sure, any engine that can use hydrocarbon fuels can be adapted to use hydrogen fuel as a primary or supplemental fuel.
Why do we keep hearing that hydrogen energy is so difficult to produce and store that hydrogen fuel will not be widely available for another 20 years? If you want to be brutally honest it is in part because the same friendly corporations who now sell you gasoline would like to sell you hydrogen and the business model that they use is based on a large scale production, distribution and storage network which will be hard to replicate using gaseous hydrogen. But again, that is not the only way to do it and my reason for writing this story is to shed some light on other methods and on ways to increase the viability of these methods. After all, business is about competition and competition revolves around doing something better and more economically than the competition can do it. So if someone wants to market alternative pathways to the hydrogen energy goal then as consumers it is our duty to examine all that is being offered and to choose the path that is most beneficial for ourselves on an individual basis. With that in mind I offer the following story on hydrogen fuel.
In the last issue of this newsletter I made the assertion that is is possible to produce hydrogen fuel using less energy than the amount that can be produced by combining hydrogen with oxygen. To many people this will seem obvious and they would cite the old "dissolving Al foil in lye water" experiment as an example. That is a fine example as the aluminum dissolves as it is attacked by the negatively charged OH ions in the lye water solution producing AlO3 and H2 gas. So that hydrogen is produced without any energy being added to the system. The only problem is that the aluminum has to dissolve in the process and this raises a lot of cost issues. It does however allow you to store your hydrogen fuel on oxygen atoms until you are ready to use it, much the same way that hydrogen atoms are stored on carbon atoms in hydrocarbon fuels until we are ready to use them. That is an interesting concept in my opinion: using water as a storage medium for hydrogen energy. Just like hydrocarbons, water is widely available and easy to store and transport compared to gaseous hydrogen fuel.
Let's take the battery concept a bit further. Here is a good science fair project for some enterprising kid. Consider flashlight batteries, A zinc case is filled with an electrolyte paste and a depolarizer. The zinc serves as the anode of the cell and a carbon rod in the center of the battery as the cathode. When the battery is being used the zinc case is attacked by the electrolyte and oxidized. Electrons that are liberated by this reaction follow the wire that connects the terminals of the battery, through the electrical load and then enter the solution at the cathode. At the surface of the cathode H2 gas is produced. According to Faraday's laws of electrolysis an amount of H2 is produced that is equal to the amount of current which flows. For every electron that enters the cathode one atom of hydrogen is created. As long as the battery is used the hydrogen keeps on being created. That is why the power of batteries decreases over time with constant use.
Once you turn your flashlight off the hydrogen that has been accumulating is converted into water due to the action of a depolarizer which is included in the electrolyte solution for just this purpose. That is why, after a while when you turn the flashlight on again the lightbulb burns brightly. It hasn't recharged itself, that is impossible, but the hydrogen which accumulated at the cathode and lessened it's surface area and therefore it's current carrying ability has been converted back into water in the electrolyte. So if you were to scoop that H2 out of the battery after you turn it off you would have useable hydrogen fuel left over after the battery has performed it's function. Interesting.
Now consider the experiment that I described in the last issue. I had 6 electrolysis cells being powered by a 6 volt zinc/carbon battery. That would be fine as an Illustration but let's simplify it a bit more for illustrative purposes and say we have one 1.5 volt battery powering one electrolysis cell. We will say that the battry can produce .5 amps of current and that the electrolysis cell can pass that much current. So we have the battery producing 1.5v x .5a = .75 watts of power.And we have the electrolysis cell using (assuming a 1.5 volt drop between the electrodes) 1.5v x .5a + .75 watts of power. So all of the energy produced by the battery is being used by the electrolysis cell according to commonly used electrical theory. The energy that the electrolysis cell uses is assumed to be stored in the form of the H2 gas that is produces.
That is all well and good until we add in the H2 that is produced by the battery as a byproduct of it's operation (as outlined above). Suddenly we have DOUBLE the H2 that was produced in the electrolysis cell and therefore we should have double the energy that was originally supplied by the battery. Is this the case? Well, if we use that H2 fuel to power 2 fuel cells at .5a for the same amount of time we have .8v of power per cell under load or 1.6 volts x .5a = .8 watts of power being produced. That is more energy out than in but not double the original amount. That is because we are reacting the H2 with O2 in the fuel cell. If you were to react it with O3 or Flourine the "extra" power produced would be significantly larger. The conclusion is that the hydrogen produced is not an energy storage medium for the energy used to produce it but is a by-product of the chemical reaction that produces it as Michael Faraday said it was.
Another thing that I mentioned in the last newsletter was that it takes less energy to produce hydrogen by the steam reformation process or the water gas process than is released when hydrogen is combined with O2. One way to make use of this might be to burn H2 and O2 together to create steam at a temp of almost 6000 devgrees farenheit and inject some more water into this steam bringing the overall temp down to 3000 degrees. Then we run the steam through a turbine/generator and produce electricity. Once the steam has produced electricity for us and lost some of it's heat it comes off the turbine and (assuming we still have it at 1800 degrees farenheit) we pass it through hot carbon and the steam splits into H2 and CO. But again we get more H2 out of the process than we put into it because we added some extra water into the steam that was produced by the original H2/O2 combustion reaction. Plus we used the steam to produce electricity along the way. Nice overall energy gain there throughout the process.
Finally let's have a look at reformers. They have been in the news quite a bit recently. What happens is that a (hot) stream of a hydrocarbon and water are passed over a catalyst bed and the oxygen from the water combines with the carbon from the hydrocarbon creating CO and both the water and the hydrocarbon release their hydrogen atoms. So you get 50% of your H2 from the hydrocarbon and 50% from the water. This effectively doubles the energy of the hydrocarbon. The CO can remain in the gas created and also burn as a fuel. The reason that the reactants have to be hot is that carbon needs to be heated before it will react. consider the process of lighting a coal stove, you use a match to heat the coal until it starts to react with oxygen from the atmosphere. After that the C + O2 reaction creates enough energy to make the reaction self sustaining.
The reformer process has been known and used by oil refineries for years and years. No matter that a company just completed a 5 year 25 million dollar project to build a reformer for the US Navy (which costs 200,000 $ per unit) to produce H2 from diesel and water to supplement the fuel of big diesel ships (fuel is mix of diesel and reformed diesel and water). This will extend the range of the ships by reducing the amount of hydrocarbon fuel used. This can be adapted to diesel trucks and gasoline cars as well. Want a way to cut your fuel bills in half? Here it is. But you don't have $200,000 for such a unit? No problem, I'll tell you how to build one out of junk yard parts for $200 or less. Hey, what are friends for?
You already have a reformer you know. You just don't realize that you have one. What is it? The catalytic converter on your car. Yep, with a few simple modifications the hydrocarbon cracker under your car could function as a reformer and cut your fuel bills in half. ;-) You see all you would have to do is get a converter, then some pipes and tubes. Now, you divert a bit of your exhaust stream to run through this converter. The exhaust will heat up the reformer and after that it will get more heat from doing it's normal job (yes, the C + O or C + O2 or CO + O reactions are exothermic releasing around 53.7 kcal of energy per mole ) so the reformer process is also exothermic and can provide enough heat on it's own to heat the hydrocarbon/water stream. So anyway, then you connect two tubes into the inlet side of the converter (one for water and the other for your hydrocarbon) and then connect the outlet to your engine either through the intake or modified injectors (there are several systems available to let your car run on combination liquid/gaseous fuels) and you are good to go. Ok, so this is a bit vague and might need some work but overall it is accurate and would be something great to develop.
These are some of the avenues that you the consumer should be aware of in the coming H2 economy but ones that big oil will never explain to you in this way? Why not? Because it shoots them in the foot and that is not good business for them. They will present to you the technology that they want you to use. It is going to be up to small companies and maverick researchers to bring you the rest. And up to you to educate yourself enough to know what is really possible.
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Hydrogen News Links:
(1) NineSigma Innovation Newsletter
http://www.ninesigma.com
Here is an interesting website for innovative readers. They put out a newsletter that has in it announcements by various companies who
are looking for someone to develop some product, device or process for them . Companies such as Proctor and Gamble, General Motors, etc.
(2) Windships Have Arrived!
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com...
Harry Braun has been promoting the idea of using ships at sea to produce hydrogen by electrolysis using wind energy for years now. His Phoenix Project book and
website outline the concept. Seems that someone has finally decided to build one. I wonder if Harry gets a mention or any royalties...?
(3) Colorado voters back renewable energy measure
http://www.planetark.com/dail...
(4) Global Ideas Bank
http://www.globalideasbank.or...
I like this website too. Just a bunch of folks from all over the world sharing ideas on how to make things better. :-)
(5) Ballard Power loss widens
http://www.theglobeandmail.co...
(6) Avista fuel-cell spinoff attracts $25 million
http://seattletimes.nwsource....
During blackouts, the fuel cells run on hydrogen bottles that have to be replaced every eight hours.
(7) IdaTech unveils fuel cell system
http://www.idahostatesman.com...
The entire fuel cell system, including reformer and hydrogen purification module, is about the size of a large lunch box, measuring about 12-by-8-by-6 inches.
(8) Energy Efficiency Creates New Business Opportunities
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
The Asahi Shimbun, 3 November 2004 - With the Kyoto Protocol on global warming likely to come into force soon, discussion on implementing an
environment tax has gone into high gear. European nations already have such a tax, but Japan postponed adopting one even though the issue
was the subject of considerable debate over the past few years.
(9) Emissions impossible?
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
Industry has much to do when it comes to improving energy efficiency. Louise Tickle on the good, the bad and
the indifferent.
(10) Guess Who Extreme Weather Hits Hardest?
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
Africa News, 2 November 2004 - When it rains, it really pours on the world's poorest. ( Of course this could also mean that Africa and the Middle East will again
become the world's breadbasket... Climate scientists are already predicting this outcome. ED.)
(11) Arctic ice to melt in summer this century unless greenhouse gases curbed
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
The Arctic ice cover will completely disappear in summer by the end of this century unless carbon dioxide emissions are significantly reduced, according to a scientific
study to be released next week.
(12) Global Warming May Stymie Development
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
South African government's strategy for responding to a hotter world does not go far enough' expert.
(13) A turning point for Kyoto?
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes...
There was a giddy alcoholic theme to the announcement the Russian Duma has ratified the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. ( Giddy alcoholic theme? This sounds
like a job for me! So 'cmon everybody...hehe Ed.)
(14) Environment the star student at this dorm
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/...
Mallory Giaccone transferred to the University of South Carolina this semester looking for something new, and found it in an environmentally friendly dorm that boasts
solar-heated water and electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell.
(15) Chemical cars peel rubber
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/s...
Can a car really run on beef liver and hydrogen peroxide? How about baking soda and vinegar?
(16) Casio Develops Smallest Fuel Cell for Laptop PCs
http://www.mobilemag.com/cont...
Casio has developed the world's smallest fuel cell for use in laptops and aims to market it in 2007. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell, which is being developed for use in
automobiles and home appliances, has been miniaturized to almost the same size as a conventional lithium ion battery.
(17) Raw sewage can now turn into raw power
http://www.isa.org/Template.c...
A new device, called a microbial fuel cell, not only treats wastewater, but also provides a clean energy source, said researchers at Pennsylvania State University.
(18) Bush, oil batter clean energy stocks
http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/...
Shares of alternative energy companies took a one-two punch this week when President Bush was re-elected and oil prices tumbled back near $49 a barrel.
( So the oil companies kept prices artificially high until their cantidate got elected? Wow, reward and punishment for the voters. We're Pavlovian dogs folks. ED.)
(19) Hydrogen fuel used to teach
http://www.ledger-enquirer.co...
The same technology that has developed fuel cell cars like the Honda Hybrid or the Lexus RX400 Hybrid, can be used to provide electrical power or heat to a home.
(20) Bush plans could mean cheaper fuel
http://www.usatoday.com/money...
George Bush, an oilman, could wind up a sort of fuel-economy and alternative-fuel president. He's already boosted mileage requirements for trucks 7%, to an average
22.2 miles per gallon for 2007 models. He's committed $1.7 billion to hydrogen-fuel research.
(21) BMW’s Hydrogen and Clean Energy Strategy
http://www.carlist.com/autone...
BMW is creating a hydrogen internal combustion engine. They have documented their vision of the future. It is a long paper, authored by BMW, but it is an important
piece to read.
(22) Jadoo Receives First DOT Approval to Transport Hydrogen-Based Storage System via Air Cargo
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/0...
Jadoo Power Systems, Inc , a leading provider of portable power products, announced today that it has received the first exemption granted by the US Department of
Transportation to transport Jadoo's storage system containing hydrogen absorbed in metal hydride via air cargo.
(23) Joint agreement could put gator in war zone
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