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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 11/14/2007 : 16:05:23
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Hydrogen gas, as a fuel replacing fossil fuels, has some great advantages: In an internal combustion engine, it burns cleanly, leaving no pollutants, only water vapor. Or it can be used in hydrogen-air fuel cells, again with only clean steam as a byproduct. So far, so good, especially in terms of concerns over MMGW-causing greenhouse gasses.
But making hydrogen gas (and storing it) is the tricky part. Getting hydrogen from fossil fuels is a wasteful, expensive, and polluting process.
Hydrogen generation by electrical hydrolysis of water is only between 50% to 70% efficient. And that electrical energy must come from somewhere -- often from the burning of coal or oil.
Now, a new process is being studied, one that may incrementally increase the efficiency of hydrogen production. Sometimes, incremental advances add up to the point of making a technology practical.Logan and Shaoan Cheng, research associate, suggest a method based on microbial fuel cells to convert cellulose and other biodegradable organic materials directly into hydrogen.
The researchers used naturally occurring bacteria in a microbial electrolysis cell with acetic acid -- the acid found in vinegar. Acetic acid is also the predominant acid produced by fermentation of glucose or cellulose. The anode was granulated graphite, the cathode was carbon with a platinum catalyst, and they used an off-the-shelf anion exchange membrane. The bacteria consume the acetic acid and release electrons and protons creating up to 0.3 volts. When more than 0.2 volts are added from an outside source, hydrogen gas bubbles up from the liquid.
"This process produces 288 percent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added to the process," says Logan. |
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2007 : 19:32:52 [Permalink]
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If this is a commercially viable process, then cannot count out the fuel-cell just yet.
It took a count to eight, but it's up and fighting again.
There's a high tech company in one my neighbouring towns that specialise in developing fuel-cell technology. I've been thinking about purchasing some stocks in the company, but as ethanol is getting bigger and bigger here in Sweden (and elsewhere), the fuel-cell technology falls in the shadows.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
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Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2007 : 19:44:38 [Permalink]
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I'm not comfortable about ethanol. At least for now, it comes almost completely from food crops. I imagine there are landowners in both developed nations and third world countries who would rather feed cars than their people. So I'm glad to see a potential of getting fuels, especially hydrogen, from non-food crops.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 11/15/2007 19:45:17 |
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Hydrolysis 288% efficient, using bacteria
