Novel sugar-to-hydrogen technology promises transportation fuel independence

Virginia Tech News ^ | 5/23/06 | Susan Trulove

[HangnJudge]

snip. Researchers at Virginia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the University of Georgia propose using polysaccharides, or sugary carbohydrates, from biomass to directly produce low-cost hydrogen for the new hydrogen economy.

snip. Using synthetic biology approaches, Zhang and colleagues Barbara R. Evans and Jonathan R. Mielenz of ORNL, and Robert C. Hopkins and Michael W.W. Adams of the University of Georgia, are using a combination of 13 enzymes never found together in nature to completely convert polysaccharides (C6H10O5) and water into hydrogen when and where that form of energy is needed. This “synthetic enzymatic pathway” research appears in the May 23 issue of PLoS ONE, the online, open-access journal from the Public Library of Science.
snip. The vision is for the ingredients to be mixed in the fuel tank of your car, for instance. A car with an approximately 12-gallon tank could hold 27 kilograms (kg) of starch, which is the equivalent of 4 kg of hydrogen. The range would be more than 300 miles, Zhang estimates. One kg of starch will produce the same energy output as 1.12 kg (0.38 gallons) of gasoline

snip. So it is environmentally friendly, energy efficient, requires no special infrastructure, and is extremely safe. We have killed three birds with one stone,” he said. “We have hydrogen production with a mild reaction and low cost. We have hydrogen storage and transport in the form of starch or syrups. And no special infrastructure is needed

[SampleMan]

If you put starch in the car and it converts it extracts energy from it, it seems that at some point the car will need to take a dump. I wonder how that is handled.

[HangnJudge]

I see a lot of carbon and oxygen as a byproduct here, what kind of soupy, gloopy mess is going to be left in the tank after everything is “digested” and needs to be removed?

Yup, the carbon must go somewhere, and the article states that the next R&D step will be to increase reaction rates and reduce enzyme costs. Enzymes likely would not be consumed in the process and could be "recycled"

[MainFrame65]

Right. And if you want to make pancakes on a camping trip, you don’t need to bring syrup.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Getting Closer.... Any process to stop the flow of money into the Islamists is OK with me

I have a great idea!

Let's create massive food insecurity in the sacred name of imaginary "energy independence."

All in favor, follow me over this cliff!!!!!!

[domenad]

Buddy, if we get off that raghead juice, it’ll be freaking Sweet N’ Low for me the rest of my life, no problem.

[taxcontrol]

I could see this first coming to market as a camping technology. Portable heater / power generator fueled by a bottle of syrup. The next step would be as an alternative for propane replacement ... though in colder climates, keeping the syrup thin enough to actually use may be a bit of a problem. Perhaps there might be a way to convert the syrup to pellets thus altering the problem.

Co-generation and off grid application could be next. Farmers could convert sugar beets or corn syrup on site to power their farms. All these technologies could be serviced with “syrup trucks”.

The next major step would be the adoption by fleet vehicles and a distribution system to support them. If the post office fleet were to have a large sugar or syrup tank back at their headquarters....???

[Liberty Valance]

Sweet!

[MPJackal]

So my car will be fed nothing but sugar? It’s “Grill” will be a mess. It will also probably get fat and develop diabetes. Has anyone considered these unintended consequences?

[capitalist229]

what kind of soupy, gloopy mess is going to be left in the tank after everything is “digested”

Yeah a car rectum would go well with a stinky catalytic converter.

BUMP

[MWF054]

Ah, but how much gasoline is used to produce, harvest and transport the starch?

[mollynme]

Hey. This could mean a comeback of the sugar beet industry around here. Hmmm.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

“Just add enzymes to a mixture of starch and water and “the enzymes use the energy in the starch to break up water into only carbon dioxide and hydrogen,” Zhang said.....A membrane bleeds off the carbon dioxide and the hydrogen is used by the fuel cell to create electricity.”

algore is deeply saddened.....

[umgud]

Some things seem too good to be true. Some major achievements are so simple we wonder why we didn’t think of it before.

Regardless, this or some other solution will someday arrive. And when it does, it will cripple all the camel jockeys wanting to destroy us because their oil money will be cut off and thus, their terror financing will be gone.

Most mideast oil countries don’t and probably won’t ever produce anything other than oil to support themselves.

[Recovering Hermit]

[Gorzaloon]

If you put starch in the car and it converts it extracts energy from it, it seems that at some point the car will need to take a dump. I wonder how that is handled.

Umm. Probably big pits in rest areas with grates over them. An annular rubber valve affixed to the waste tank opens, accompanied by a warning grunting sound that means," Do not drive away for a minute".

[rlmorel]

I’m with ya on that.

[montomike]

It’s nice of you to let her use a shovel!

[r9etb]

Then you need another tank to convert cellulose into glucose and things will really be good - organic cars powered by termites and bacteria.

Here's a lady riding her 1 CowPower organic car.

[HangnJudge]

Ah, but how much gasoline is used to produce, harvest and transport the starch?

Transport and distribution issues are significant with oil also. Perhaps the harvesters / trucks could also run off the same stuff. The energy cost of fertilizer might be meaningful

[r9etb]

Yup, the carbon must go somewhere, and the article states that the next R&D step will be to increase reaction rates and reduce enzyme costs. Enzymes likely would not be consumed in the process and could be "recycled"

And the carbon byproducts might well be good feedstock for the fertilizer or plastics industries.