Posted on 05/17/2007 4:09:52 AM PDT by saganite
Can you please correct my title. On demand hydrogen for cars should be in brackets as that is not part of the title. Thanks
AH, finally, a use for old beer cans!
This sounds good on the surface, but 100% of aluminum is refined by electrolytic means. Are they counting this in the equation or is this just another bandwagon for liberals to jump on?
I think the article mentions nuclear power as a source for producing the aluminum.
However, the cost of aluminum could be reduced by recycling it from the alumina using a process called fused salt electrolysis. The aluminum could be produced at competitive prices if the recycling process were carried out with electricity generated by a nuclear power plant or windmills. Because the electricity would not need to be distributed on the power grid, it would be less costly than power produced by plants connected to the grid, and the generators could be located in remote locations, which would be particularly important for a nuclear reactor to ease political and social concerns, Woodall said.
Liquid aluminum reacts very violently with oxygen, it's several times more explosive than TNT. The heat energy produced from that reaction might be tappable as well.
-Eric
Sooner or later, they’re going to sort it out. Sooner, I hope.
Liberals wouldn't go near it. It might work.
So where's the savings? I already get around 450-480 miles to a tankfull of gas and even at $3 a gallon it still only costs around $50 to fill up.
I can just imagine the first time one of these cars gets into a collision, the tank splits open, and some fireman tries turning his water hose on it
Like all hydrogen fuel schemes, the gotcha is in where do you get the energy to produce the hydrogen. currently there isn't much in the way of spare capacity on the US electrical system, so you'd have to build new generation to handle the energy needs. I read somewhere that it would take about 200 new nuclear plants to provide the energy used by the transportation sector. Another example (this "research") of taxpayer money paying for something we don't want and can't use.
Are you sure about that? I've handled molten aluminium to make small castings, and I'm sure it has come in contact with the oxygen in air. I do know that aluminium powder is a component of the explosive Astrolite, but that requires another exotic chemical, to be produced. This Astrolite is about twice as explosive as TNT. Perhaps you've confused the latter for the former, no?
No savings are involved. This isn’t about cheaper fuel but less polluting fuel.
The article continuously compares this to gasoline, but in fact this amounts to a type of battery technology. If it's advantageous, it is so not in comparison to gasoline but to other ways of storing electrical power.All discussion of a "hydrogen economy" boil down to that, since hydrogen is not available from any source other than a carbon-containing chemical fuel or directly from electricity.
Did you read the entire article? The hydrogen is produced on demand in the vehicle by taking advantage of the chemical reaction discussed.
I guess they won’t be using an aluminum engine block for this lol...
I can see it now. We bring the pellets home in big bags like the Purina pet chow until the Chinese sneak some melamine in to poison our cars. :)
And about a renewable fuel that isn't in primarily in the hands of a few despotic regimes around the world.
If this process has potential, and can displace a percentage of demand for oil in conjunction with other technologies, it can have a beneficial effect on segments of the market that aren't suitable for anything BUT gasoline by reducing demand. Any (economically-viable) step toward reduction of demand has benefits toward stabilizing price and reducing the power of certain evil regimes around the world. That much works for me.
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