Outlaw Yogi wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:31 pm
Well I've been banging on for over 20 years now that hydrogen to run internal combustion engines is the future of motor transport.
The petroleum industry poo pooed it 'coz it's a direct threat to their existence. They claimed it took more energy to extract hydrogen from water than to distil petrol from petroleum oil. To separate petroleum oil into its derivatives requires heating to a minimum 600C, but 900C is the current standard. That takes quite a bit of energy. Most oil refineries use large electric resisters acting as heater elements, but are being replaced by gas burners because it's more economical.
Ulf Bosel's 'The Hydrogen Economy' spells out what's required, but his comparison with petroleum oil distillation is flawed because he omitted the energy input of petroleum distillation as if it came from thin air but not the energy input of hydrogen extraction.
Ulf Bosel works for the methanol industry. If hydrogen as motor fuel took off, methanol wouldn't get in the game.
To separate oxygen and hydrogen atoms from water molecules requires 1.7 volts. You could do that with a PV solar panel in your back yard. Up the voltage and increase the process. Using saline rather than fresh water speeds it up even more.
The critical factors with storing hydrogen are the cylinder materials. Hydrogen atoms are the smallest in existence and so literally leak through the wall of steel cylinders (eg LPG/CNG cylinders). I figured this could be remedied by coating the cylinder interior with latex, silicone rubber or bio-mimicry created ceramics/glass but the Yanks are using Kevlar. One crew in the US has a Corvette with a 350 Chev motor and 8 Kevlar cylinders (4 is their standard) which allows 700km travel before refilling is needed.
Govts are hesitant to implement it because if people do it in their back shed the govt misses out on the fuel excise.
Remember the "Make your own bio-diesel" adds years ago? Yeah well making your own fuel is legal, but as soon as you take it on the road the Fed gov wants their excise duty.
Safety? Hydrogen is much safer than petrol or LPG/CNG (methane) because hydrogen is lighter than air, so if there's an accidental ignition the flame blows straight up in the air. When methane or petrol blevies it expands sideways burning everything in its reach.
So if petroleum oil based motor fuels are to be phased out there's no need to retool the vehicle industry, just change the fuel and run with gas systems like those used for LPG/CNG (methane).
If oil companies had any sense they'd adopt and take the industry over themselves. All you need is electricity and water. You wouldn't need refineries or tankers to transport fuel. It could be dome onsite at refilling stations.
I envisage motor bikes having screw in replaceable cylinders instead of petrol tanks.