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Water is the ash of hydrogen combustion. The energy has already been released. These news stories keep telling a fairytale - that we're getting closer to some t

by nsxwolf 14y ago

Water is the ash of hydrogen combustion. The energy has already been released. These news stories keep telling a fairytale - that we're getting closer to some technology that will effectively convert water into gasoline. Hydrogen from water is a potentially useful energy storage medium, but it's not a free energy source.

ColinWright 14y ago
Correct, but it appears that this process requires (lots of) heat, and that can be obtained from solar furnaces. If this works then we can use a solar furnace and directly create hydrogen gas, missing out all the efficiency-sapping intermediate stages and going straight to a storable fuel.
- tambourine_man 14y ago
  The problem is that H2 is very volatile, so storing it efficiently is not trivial.
  - roc 14y ago
    Nor is transporting. Both of which explaining why hydrogen fuel cell technology is now feasible for mid-range electrical generation (Bloom Box), but still generally DOA for vehicles. That is: generation cost hasn't been the problem for a while. It's all about storage and transport. And marginally cheaper h2 generation isn't going to make hydrogen make more sense than electrical batteries. Though I am curious to see how well a setup of this technology driving H2 separation and feeding a fuel cell stacks up against a more traditional steam turbine.
    - Shivetya 14y ago
      transport is the same as natural gas and that is already in place.
      - ken 14y ago
        Hydrogen has a number of unique safety issues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety Unlike most gasses, hydrogen gas flowing through leak warms up, and the low ignition energy means this can be enough to start a fire, and hydrogen flames are invisible. I'm not a chemical engineer, but I would assume that methane infrastructure cannot simple be re-used for hydrogen without significant changes.
      - Symmetry 14y ago
        H2 is a much smaller molecule than even methane, and containers designed to hold natural gas will tend to leak hydrogen.

by nsxwolf 14y ago

ColinWright 14y ago

Correct, but it appears that this process requires (lots of) heat, and that can be obtained from solar furnaces. If this works then we can use a solar furnace and directly create hydrogen gas, missing out all the efficiency-sapping intermediate stages and going straight to a storable fuel.

tambourine_man 14y ago
The problem is that H2 is very volatile, so storing it efficiently is not trivial.
- roc 14y ago
  Nor is transporting. Both of which explaining why hydrogen fuel cell technology is now feasible for mid-range electrical generation (Bloom Box), but still generally DOA for vehicles. That is: generation cost hasn't been the problem for a while. It's all about storage and transport. And marginally cheaper h2 generation isn't going to make hydrogen make more sense than electrical batteries. Though I am curious to see how well a setup of this technology driving H2 separation and feeding a fuel cell stacks up against a more traditional steam turbine.
  - Shivetya 14y ago
    transport is the same as natural gas and that is already in place.
    - ken 14y ago
      Hydrogen has a number of unique safety issues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety Unlike most gasses, hydrogen gas flowing through leak warms up, and the low ignition energy means this can be enough to start a fire, and hydrogen flames are invisible. I'm not a chemical engineer, but I would assume that methane infrastructure cannot simple be re-used for hydrogen without significant changes.
    - Symmetry 14y ago
      H2 is a much smaller molecule than even methane, and containers designed to hold natural gas will tend to leak hydrogen.