Need Hydrogen Storage? Think Poultry

ScienceNOW Daily News ^ | 23 June 2009 | Phil Berardelli

[GraceG]

Soon the only car choice Americans will have will be the Government Motors Chicken McHydrogen car.

[massgopguy]

Think Hindenberg.

[OneWingedShark]

>the Government Motors Chicken McHydrogen car.

“Would you like fries with that?”

[Albion Wilde]

Guard your pillows, mother!

[dirtboy]

One hitch is the amount of energy required to manufacture it,

Hitch? More like a nearly unsurmountable obstacle, unless you build a bunch of nukes to generate the electricity required to split water.

[Julia H.]

Not if PETArdation can help it.

[Jeff Chandler]

Think Hindenberg.

I don't think any motor fuel would pose a significantly higher explosion risk than gasoline. That is the reason gasoline is such a good motor fuel: it packs a high energy content.

BTW, hydrogen is just an energy storage medium.

[Mr Inviso]

So, if the chicken feathers are used to store hydrogen, and it explodes, would that be poultry in motion?

[Jeff Chandler]

One hitch is the amount of energy required to manufacture it,

Which is why hydrogen is just another energy storage medium.

Personally, I'm intrigued with the concept of hydraulic/diesel hybrids with accumulators.

[ClearCase_guy]

I don't think any motor fuel would pose a significantly higher explosion risk than gasoline.

This is not my field, but I think this is incorrect. Gasoline stores a great deal of energy: it is an excellent fuel. However, I think gasoline does not readily explode. I've heard of problems on Hollywood sets where a car is sent over a cliff, with the expectation that it will explode in a fireball at the bottom. Nope. They have to rig all kinds of devices to turn the car into a firebomb, because a quantity of liquid gasoline is very combustable, but is not generally explosive.

Hydrogen, on the other hand, does not burn slowly. Once your quantity of gaseous hydrogen starts to burn, it's time to start running!

[JSDude1]

I think these people have chicken feathers in their brains (do we really have enough ‘chicken feathers’ to power America, even if this is prove a viable technology. NO).

[jonrick46]

"The researchers estimate that a hydrogen-storage tank using the carbonized feathers would cost only about $200 when mass-produced. It's a major step forward, but the U.S. Department of Energy has set a target capacity for hydrogen-storage techniques of 6% of weight, so the carbonized feathers need improvement."

Don't bet on it.

[dalereed]

“Think Hindenberg.”

It didn’t explode, it just burned.

[green pastures]

It will be called the Coop de Ville.

[Zman]

We’ll then need vehicles with chicken Mclugnuts.

[Nathan Zachary]

"Hydrogen has several important nontransportation uses, he explains, such as a cooling medium in electricity generation."

CO2 can cool stuff too-without blowing everything up.

[Buckeye McFrog]

impractical (as the coming wave of politician tar-and-featherings is going to drive the price of chicken feathers too high)

[Nathan Zachary]

"I don't think any motor fuel would pose a significantly higher explosion risk than gasoline. That is the reason gasoline is such a good motor fuel: It packs a high energy content."

That isn't the reason its a good engine fuel (motors are electric) It's used because it's relatively cheap. 95% of that energy goes out the exhaust, wasted. Ethanol is a better engine fuel. (and electricity is a better motor fuel)

[green pastures]

Eggsactly!

(Chicken Mclugnuts.... LOL...)