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| Science & Technology |
| Radical Breakthrough In 99% Efficiency Hydrogen Production |
| 2007-11-13 |
| US researchers have developed a method of producing hydrogen gas from biodegradable organic material, potentially providing an abundant source of this clean-burning fuel, according to a study released Monday. The technology offers a way to cheaply and efficiently generate hydrogen gas from readily available and renewable biomass such as cellulose or glucose, and could be used for powering vehicles, making fertilizer and treating drinking water. Numerous public transportation systems are moving toward hydrogen-powered engines as an alternative to gasoline, but most hydrogen today is generated from nonrenewable fossil fuels such as natural gas. The method used by engineers at Pennsylvania State University however combines electron-generating bacteria and a small electrical charge in a microbial fuel cell to produce hydrogen gas. Microbial fuel cells work through the action of bacteria which can pass electrons to an anode. The electrons flow from the anode through a wire to the cathode producing an electric current. In the process, the bacteria consume organic matter in the biomass material. An external jolt of electricity helps generate hydrogen gas at the cathode. In the past, the process, which is known as electrohydrogenesis, has had poor efficiency rates and low hydrogen yields. But the researchers at Pennsylvania State University were able to get around these problems by chemically modifying elements of the reactor. In laboratory experiments, their reactor generated hydrogen gas at nearly 99 percent of the theoretical maximum yield using aetic acid, a common dead-end product of glucose fermentation. "This process produces 288 percent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added in the process," said Bruce Logan, a professor of environmental engineering at Penn State. The technology is economically viable now, which gives hydrogen an edge over another alternative biofuel which is grabbing more headlines, Logan said. "The energy focus is currently on ethanol as a fuel, but economical ethanol from cellulose is 10 years down the road," said Logan. "First you need to break cellulose down to sugars and then bacteria can convert them to ethanol." One of the immediate applications for this technology is to supply the hydrogen that is used in fuel cell cars to generate the electricity that drives the motor, but it could also can be used to convert wood chips into hydrogen to be used as fertilizer. The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #26 Time to [once again] be a good BEAU GESTE-IAN French Foreign Legionaire soldat like PEPE LE PEU and uncaringly obliviously smoke a good cigarette - NO, THE CRIPPLED RUSS BABE FROM "THE SOPRANOS"??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-11-13 21:56 |
| #25 You hoo, Professor, I'd like to finish eating my subs in class, plus change my PSU Sub Shop order to ten Philly Cheesesteak subs wid works to go, please,ala FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH + SEAN PENN's PIZZA. *D *** NG IT, SO MUCH HYDROGEN, NOT ENUFF PROVOLONE - theme from DRAGNET here. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-11-13 21:52 |
| #24 #18: Redneck, either you or I misread that article. Ummm, I read it as first making ethanol from biomass (Same biomass needed for ethanol production in the first place), then converting the ethanol to hydrogen, Wrong? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-11-13 20:54 |
| #23 hydrogen.... Think Hindenberg. |
| Posted by: Dino Spanter8758 2007-11-13 19:02 |
| #22 Here is the press release from which the 288% comes. Here is a bit about how it would be used in transportation: For those who think that a hydrogen economy is far in the future, Logan suggests that hydrogen produced from cellulose and other renewable organic materials could be blended with natural gas for use in natural gas vehicles. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-11-13 17:36 |
| #21 It is also the silver lining of high oil prices. Technological development is fast and furious. Word, remoteman. If it takes $5.00 per gallon gasoline prices to get America off of the oil tit once and for all time, then bring it on! It goes beyond ironic that the current war on Islamic terrorism is consuming the same vast amounts of money that we should be using to get off of the oil tit. It is almost as if Islam is waging this war to distract us from the more vital goal of overcoming our dependence on OPEC exports. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-13 17:16 |
| #20 Grant money hype. |
| Posted by: Phinater Thraviger 2007-11-13 17:10 |
| #19 The AFP article had the science somewhat garbled so its not easy to say what is going on here. However, a process that produces hydrogen is, other things equal, better than a process that produces ethanol. Hydrogen burns cleaner and is probably easier to transport since it could be moved in existing pipelines (with some modification of the pipelines); whereas ethanol is such a good solvent that it realy needs its own pipelines. |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-11-13 17:09 |
| #18 Redneck, either you or I misread that article. You seem to be saying that the "fuel" for the process is ethanol. I read it that the alternate biomass process produces ethanol through fermentation but this process doesn't. If this process relies on producing ethanol, how does that square the two statements.... 1)The technology is economically viable now and... 2)economical ethanol from cellulose is 10 years down the road,"???? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-11-13 15:21 |
| #17 Stuff like this introduces the unforseen deltas that Michael Crichton talks about when he poo poos the global warming crowd. It is also the silver lining of high oil prices. Technological development is fast and furious. Effective alternative energy sources are going to be developed. And then the House of Saud (spit) will sink like a lead balloon. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2007-11-13 14:54 |
| #16 "In lab experiments" to me that rings just as true as the various DIY TV shows where the host (hostess) rebuilds WITH HIS/HER OWN TWO HANDS AN ENTIRE THREE STORY VICTORIAN IN A HALF HOUR AND NEVER BREAKS A NAIL OR GETS HER TIGHT-ASSED PANTS DUSTY..... i call BS on this, for now anyway. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2007-11-13 14:31 |
| #15 I would like to see oil tick shrivelled during my lifetime! This would be a petrochemical equivalent of the Berlin Wall falling: Something I had never thought to see in my own lifetime. In laboratory experiments, their reactor generated hydrogen gas at nearly 99 percent of the theoretical maximum yield using a[c]etic acid, a common dead-end product of glucose fermentation. The new millennium's "acid" turns out to be vinegar instead of LSD. Who knew? "This process produces 288 percent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added in the process," said Bruce Logan, a professor of environmental engineering at Penn State. Given the new high-value electrochemical capacitors that have storage values in dozens or hundreds of Farads, it should be feasible to have the electrical side of this system be totally self-regenerative, in that no external (off-vehicle) energy supply would be needed for that kick-start "jolt" to the cathode. Even an ordinary car battery might have the storage potential, although it would nice to remove that chemical lead footprint from the average vehicle. Something that the Prius in no way addresses. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-13 14:09 |
| #14 First you need to break cellulose down to sugars and then bacteria can convert them to ethanol." There's the catch, the same ethanol can be used as fuel directly, and what about all the "Ethanol Plants" they use the same biomass. Can you say "Fuel Shortage", I know you can, not the alcohol, but the raw materials. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-11-13 14:08 |
| #13 No torture for hydrogen! |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2007-11-13 14:01 |
| #12 Damn it, if this is scalable, then please start on it pronto. I would like to see oil tick shrivelled during my lifetime! |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-11-13 13:13 |
| #11 wwaaaaaa Bacterias UNITE! We must fight to win our freedom not fart hydrogen for the MAN!! |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-11-13 13:13 |
| #10 Scooter McGruder, fcuk bacteria! We are higher on the food chain! Anyway, itsa fair trade, we provide food, they provide waste. Same as with yeast (alcohol production). |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-11-13 13:11 |
| #9 What about the moral issues of imprisoning innocent bacteria in "fuel cells" and torturing them with electric shocks to generate our hydrogen????? |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2007-11-13 11:54 |
| #8 Hopefully, it is scalable for industrial use. But we will see. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-11-13 11:37 |
| #7 Thanks BP, that's what I guessed since it's a bio process but while I'm not a technical illiterate when you add the "bio" prefix I get lost quickly. This process gives me flash backs to Back to the Future 2 and the Mr. Fusion that he loads from the garbage can. Heck, I've got enough cellulose in the form of fallen trees to keep going for quite a while. But, where do those electron generating bacteria come from; and how large a colony(ies) do you need to get this working to scale (as mentioned)? I'm interested in seeing the numbers for the size of the operation needed to produce enough hydrogen to power one of those city buses. I have a picture of 3 busses, one for people and the other two for the hydrogen generating bacteria. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-11-13 11:24 |
| #6 Bit more about the process here |
| Posted by: tipper 2007-11-13 11:21 |
| #5 This process produces 288 percent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added..... IS THIS POSSIBLE? Any one know what the multiplier is for Arabian oil? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-11-13 10:37 |
| #4 This process produces 288 percent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added..... IS THIS POSSIBLE? Yes. The SUN adds the remainder. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2007-11-13 10:27 |
| #3 The big question: Is it SCALEABLE? It is one thing to do this in a beaker and another to do this is swimming pool sized vats. Al Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2007-11-13 10:24 |
| #2 If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. What's the problem here? 1) One of the immediate applications for this technology is to supply the hydrogen that is used in fuel cell cars.... IMMEDIATE USE 2)This process produces 288 percent more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added..... IS THIS POSSIBLE? This sounds like perpetual motion. Is there a lot of other energy inputs to the system? 3)The technology is economically viable now,....SO LET'S USE IT! can we start tomorrow? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-11-13 10:13 |
| #1 Ironically, one of the most cellulose efficient plants is the Russian Thistle, aka the Tumbleweed. Though commercial glucose in the US is obtained almost exclusively from corn starch, this could change if a crop was desired to be specifically for starch-glucose, at a much higher density than corn. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-11-13 09:40 |