H. S. New Fuel To Look For.
Hey folks,
It’s Sunday which means it’s time for the Health and Science segment, along with the IWA. I’m sitting in The Chair, coffee on the left, today, Cinnamon Hazelnut, and ready to go.
So with all this talk about the high gas prices, you have a lot of people complaining. You have a lot of blame being thrown around. A lot of it true, some not, but very little talk about AF {Alternative Fuel}Well, while scanning the news this morning I came across this story from Reuters -H & S New fuel for 21st century -- aluminum pellets? By Julie Steenhuysen
Pellets made out of aluminum and gallium can produce pure hydrogen when water is poured on them, offering a possible alternative to gasoline-powered engines, U.S. scientists say.
Hydrogen is seen as the ultimate in clean fuels, especially for powering cars, because it emits only water when burned. U.S. President George W. Bush has proclaimed hydrogen to be the fuel of the future, but researchers have not yet found the most efficient way to produce and store hydrogen.
Wait!, I know, it’s doomed already. President Bush is for it. So right off the bat, the LWL will be against it. Right? Regardless of this poor and unfortunate fact, it is STILL good news.
The metal compound pellets may offer a way, said Jerry Woodall, an engineering professor at Purdue University in Indiana who invented the system.
"The hydrogen is generated on demand, so you only produce as much as you need when you need it," Woodall said in a statement. He said the hydrogen would not have to be stored or transported, taking care of two stumbling blocks to generating hydrogen.
For now, the Purdue scientists think the system could be used for smaller engines like lawn mowers and chain saws. But they think it would work for cars and trucks as well, either as a replacement for gasoline or as a means of powering hydrogen fuel cells.
This is good news folks. I can imagine when they got done with the whole price gouging initial release, it becomes more and more readily available, knocking down the price. That will be it. If it is done correctly. Imagine buying a new car with this type of engine. This means the Big Oil, or more importantly, FOREIGN Oil, will no longer have all the "costs" they have today. They will not be able to GIVE their oil away. Oh this would not happen over night, but it could happen before my Son Joshua is driving. That would be great.
"It is one of the more feasible ideas out there," Jay Gore, an engineering professor and interim director of the Energy Center at Purdue's Discovery Park, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. "It's a very simple idea but had not been done before."
On its own, aluminum will not react with water because it forms a protective skin when exposed to oxygen. Adding gallium keeps the film from forming, allowing the aluminum to react with oxygen in the water.
This reaction splits the oxygen and hydrogen contained in water, releasing hydrogen in the process.
"I was cleaning a crucible containing liquid alloys of gallium and aluminum," Woodall said. "When I added water to this alloy -- talk about a discovery -- there was a violent poof."
{Laughing} BOOM! Some of the greatest discoveries in history have been made by accident.
Hey folks,
It’s Sunday which means it’s time for the Health and Science segment, along with the IWA. I’m sitting in The Chair, coffee on the left, today, Cinnamon Hazelnut, and ready to go.
So with all this talk about the high gas prices, you have a lot of people complaining. You have a lot of blame being thrown around. A lot of it true, some not, but very little talk about AF {Alternative Fuel}Well, while scanning the news this morning I came across this story from Reuters -H & S New fuel for 21st century -- aluminum pellets? By Julie SteenhuysenPellets made out of aluminum and gallium can produce pure hydrogen when water is poured on them, offering a possible alternative to gasoline-powered engines, U.S. scientists say.
Hydrogen is seen as the ultimate in clean fuels, especially for powering cars, because it emits only water when burned. U.S. President George W. Bush has proclaimed hydrogen to be the fuel of the future, but researchers have not yet found the most efficient way to produce and store hydrogen.
Wait!, I know, it’s doomed already. President Bush is for it. So right off the bat, the LWL will be against it. Right? Regardless of this poor and unfortunate fact, it is STILL good news.
The metal compound pellets may offer a way, said Jerry Woodall, an engineering professor at Purdue University in Indiana who invented the system."The hydrogen is generated on demand, so you only produce as much as you need when you need it," Woodall said in a statement. He said the hydrogen would not have to be stored or transported, taking care of two stumbling blocks to generating hydrogen.
For now, the Purdue scientists think the system could be used for smaller engines like lawn mowers and chain saws. But they think it would work for cars and trucks as well, either as a replacement for gasoline or as a means of powering hydrogen fuel cells.
This is good news folks. I can imagine when they got done with the whole price gouging initial release, it becomes more and more readily available, knocking down the price. That will be it. If it is done correctly. Imagine buying a new car with this type of engine. This means the Big Oil, or more importantly, FOREIGN Oil, will no longer have all the "costs" they have today. They will not be able to GIVE their oil away. Oh this would not happen over night, but it could happen before my Son Joshua is driving. That would be great.
"It is one of the more feasible ideas out there," Jay Gore, an engineering professor and interim director of the Energy Center at Purdue's Discovery Park, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. "It's a very simple idea but had not been done before."
On its own, aluminum will not react with water because it forms a protective skin when exposed to oxygen. Adding gallium keeps the film from forming, allowing the aluminum to react with oxygen in the water.
This reaction splits the oxygen and hydrogen contained in water, releasing hydrogen in the process.
"I was cleaning a crucible containing liquid alloys of gallium and aluminum," Woodall said. "When I added water to this alloy -- talk about a discovery -- there was a violent poof."
{Laughing} BOOM! Some of the greatest discoveries in history have been made by accident.
What is left over is aluminum oxide and gallium. In the engine, the byproduct of burning hydrogen is water.
"No toxic fumes are produced," Woodall said.
Good for the environment.
"When and if fuel cells become economically viable, our method would compete with gasoline at $3 per gallon even if aluminum costs more than a dollar per pound."
Recycling the aluminum oxide byproduct and developing a lower grade of gallium could bring down costs, making the system more affordable, Woodall said.
The Purdue Research Foundation holds title to the primary patent, which has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. An Indiana startup company, AlGalCo LLC., has received a license for the exclusive right to commercialize the process.
But of course I’m sure someone, somewhere, will find a way to keep costs regulated, and find a way that you will have to pay for a process. But in the long run, this is GREAT news. Now these folks just have to get by Big Oil, the Government {Hugh Tax loss with doing away with Gasoline}, The Service Station Industry, Politicians who are invested in Oil. You know, Like Al Gore? And all the others out there attempting to cash in on AF. Good luck.
But independence from ANY foreign oil, clean, no, yes 0 pollution, and readily available? This is a no lose possibility. This is good news.
Peter
"No toxic fumes are produced," Woodall said.
Good for the environment.
"When and if fuel cells become economically viable, our method would compete with gasoline at $3 per gallon even if aluminum costs more than a dollar per pound."
Recycling the aluminum oxide byproduct and developing a lower grade of gallium could bring down costs, making the system more affordable, Woodall said.
The Purdue Research Foundation holds title to the primary patent, which has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. An Indiana startup company, AlGalCo LLC., has received a license for the exclusive right to commercialize the process.
But of course I’m sure someone, somewhere, will find a way to keep costs regulated, and find a way that you will have to pay for a process. But in the long run, this is GREAT news. Now these folks just have to get by Big Oil, the Government {Hugh Tax loss with doing away with Gasoline}, The Service Station Industry, Politicians who are invested in Oil. You know, Like Al Gore? And all the others out there attempting to cash in on AF. Good luck.But independence from ANY foreign oil, clean, no, yes 0 pollution, and readily available? This is a no lose possibility. This is good news.
Peter
