ACTUAL HYDROGEN POWERED CARS- FOR USE NOW

[aTOMiC]

autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4024751



This is terrific. I am a believer in hydrogen technology and to see it actually put into practice is wonderful. Just need oil as a lubricant. I'm guessing domestic oil production would be sufficient enough to cover lubricant needs. Bye bye gasoline.

[dlbpharmd]

[url]Bye bye gasoline.

Wouldn't that be great?

[Prebe]

Where do you plan to get the hydrogen?

[Nav]

Yeah that's the big problem; both hydrogen cells and electric cars will continue to be hamstrung as long as we're unable to generate our electricity cleanly.

The technology is looking very good indeed though, check this out from last year: Test Riding First Hydrogen Bike
If there was a network of hydrogen filling stations in the UK, I'd be seriously tempted to get one of these. My main concern would be the lack of noise, they are talking about adding an "engine noise simulator" to them which is an idea I find particularly repulsive. I think they should make give it an audible whistle or hum, like a space ship.

Of course, if you live happen to live on an island with a great big waterfall you could just hook up a hydrogen plant to your hydroelectric station and have yourself a zero emission community in a snap: Yakushima Island

[[Syl]]

Novel Sugar-to-hydrogen Technology Promises Transportation Fuel Independence

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.

Polysaccharides like starch and cellulose are used by plants for energy storage and building blocks and are very stable until exposed to enzymes. 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. Water, a product of that fuel cell process, will be recycled for the starch-water reactor. Laboratory tests confirm that it all takes place at low temperature -- about 86 degrees F -- and atmospheric pressure.

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.

Over the years, many substances have been proposed as "hydrogen carriers,"such as methanol, ethanol, hydrocarbons, or ammonia -- all of which require special storage and distribution. Also, the thermochemical reforming systems require high temperatures and are complicated and bulky. Starch, on the other hand, can be distributed by grocery stores, Zhang points out.

"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."

[Avatar]

This looks promising.

--A

[Prebe]

Now THAT's news!

I do however fear that Activation energy of one or more of the enzymatic processes and the actual speed of the process might pose insurmountable bariers, at least to decentralised utilisation.

If the hydrogen generation was centralised (that carries a lot of other problems as we all know) you COULD get the benefit of:
A: shunting the biomass CO2 waste from the process into greenhouses to
B: Increase yield of expensive food crops: tomatos peppers etc. (I'm not talking about growing energy crops in greenhouses)
C: To accomplish net immobilisation of CO2
D: Less dependency on enzymatic convertion rates and large scale production minimisation of activation energy.