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Hydrogen fuel breakthrough in Queensland could fire up massive new export market

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posted on Oct, 12 2018 @ 06:53 PM
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With Professor Samuel Mao's team at UC Berkeley in the U.S., Professor Yu's research team developed a new H-doped [hydrogen doped] photocatalyst by removing oxygen from the photocatalyst surface made of titanium dioxide and filling hydrogen into it through the decomposition of MgH2. Energy of long wavelength including visible light could not be used for the existing white Titanium dioxide because it has a wide band gap energy. However, the development of MgH2 reduction could overcome this through oxygen flaw induction and H-doping while enabling the use of solar light with 570nm-wavelength.

MgH2 reduction can synthesize new matters by applying to Titanium oxide used in this research as well as the oxides composed of other atoms such as Zr, Zn, and Fe. This method is applicable to various other fields such as photocatalyst and secondary battery. The photocatalyst synthesized in this research has four times higher photoactivity than the existing white titanium dioxide and is not difficult to manufacture, thus being very advantageous for hydrogen mass production.

EurekAlert.org, Oct. 11, 2018 - New technique for turning sunshine and water into hydrogen fuel.

Mass production is a real possibility now. If they can use iron instead of titanium then there you go! Throw some harvesting farms out in the desert, make Luke tend to them with a couple of 'Droids so he doesn't follow Old Ben on some damn foolish adventure, and we in our hydrogen future.

 



Chemistry professor Shannon Stahl leads a team that designed a fuel cell using cheaper materials and a redesigned compound, which helps the flow of electrons and protons that convert chemical energy into electricity. He says the new process replaces the expensive metal platinum as the catalyst.

"Bypassing the need for platinum would be a major breakthrough. There are strategies that exist right now that are just not meeting the metrics that are needed. And so, conceiving of novel approaches, new strategies to overcome this limitation is really what we're trying to pursue in this project," Stahl said.

Stahl says his research, published this month in the journal Joule, has found that cobalt — a lower-cost metal — can be used instead, with some modifications to the process.

wuwm.com, Oct. 12, 2018 - Wisconsin Hydrogen Breakthroughs May Be Steps Toward Cleaner Energy.

About time there is a U.S.A.! breakthrough news item!

 


Europe Hydrogen news, renewableenergymagazine.com, Oct. 10, 2018 - RISE and Swerim to develop new testbed for renewable hydrogen production.

Joint effort to study electrolysis and hydrogen storage!

An uptick in "hydrogen news" must surely means something is up!



posted on Oct, 12 2018 @ 09:18 PM
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originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
a reply to: Blue Shift


Found something out today.

First, I was reading this at the National Law Review: DOE Announces Collaborative Project On Hydrogen And Fuel Cells.

Where the DOE has signed MOU with the Army to investigate hydrogen fuel cells, production, and infrastructure.

Well, they also mention the DOE's H2@ Scale


H2@ Scale is a concept that explores the potential for wide-scale hydrogen production and utilization in the United States to enable resiliency of the power generation and transmission sectors, while also aligning diverse multibillion dollar domestic industries, domestic competitiveness, and job creation.

energy.gov - H2@ Scale.

The concept has been up and running for 2 years! They have a info graphic showing what the full infrastructure would like based upon hydrogen within current settings. The entire side of the "Hydrogen Economy"!

It is an "addition to" view instead of complete replacement of another energy segment (coal, gas, or oil). But it also a closed loop.

Somebody has been doing some "forward thinking" for once!



Consider this paragraph from H2@scale and tell me again about forward "thinking."

Ten million metric tons of hydrogen are currently produced in the United States every year (95% of which is via centralized reforming of natural gas). Other approaches include hydrogen production from water splitting, such as electrolysis, photoelectrochemical cells, or solar thermochemical systems. The primary uses of hydrogen today are in the oil refining and ammonia industries. Other emerging applications include fuel cell vehicles, metals refining, and synthetic natural gas production.

If 95% of hydrogen is made via reforming of natural gas, why would synthetic natural gas production be an "emerging application." See Great Plains Gasifier for the how-2.
The DOE office responsible for this is EERE, known in the Department as the political branch because technical expertise is just not there. If you look at the ridiculous diagram with all the arrows, you will see all sorts of electrical energy used to make hydrogen which is then shown to make electricity. Using renewables to produce electrical power to electrolyze water to make hydrogen which is then burned to make electricity seems like a bad idea. Electrolysis is 70% efficient, at best, because of the IR drop across the cell. Electrical generation using fuel cells is 50% efficient. This means that the cycle is 35% efficient. If the renewable power were put on the grid, you would not lose 65% of your energy and not have to store, compress, and transport hydrogen. EERE, the home of pure genius.



posted on Oct, 16 2018 @ 02:05 PM
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a reply to: pteridine


There has been a ramp up in chatter on H2 recently.

TheDrive.com - Hydrogen Fueling Stations are Being Built in New York and New England.

phys.org - Some like it cryogenic.

Which is about a partnership between First Element Fuel and Sandia to construct re-fueling stations at liquid hydrogen temperatures.

phys.org - New, durable catalyst for key fuel cell reaction may prove useful in eco-friendly vehicles.

Which describes a layered catalyst entombed in platinum reducing the overall amount of platinum needed. Plus it exceeds the standard they set for 2020 - 2025 for catalyst lifetime.

All three of these stories have come out in the last week!

globalnewswire.com (PR), Oct. 16, 2018 - HyperSolar Granted Critical Patent for Producing Low Cost Renewable Hydrogen.

HyperSolar continues the march towards commercialization of their envisioned hydrogen farm which they would supply H2 for ammonia production for transportation then conversion back to H2 using the membrane from OP.

The trick is to get "brown" hydrogen creation out of the loop (natural gas). The grid itself needs long term storage to load shift and load balance. Nuclear will have to be around and used too. Combined heat and power, supercritical CO2, and power transmission will have to better utilized.

It won't happen over night. And the US will not be the leader as we seem to be playing catch up to everybody else. But the whole idea does not seem as far off as saying "hydrogen economy" did back in the 1970's.

The whole thing could go the way of the Hindenburg if there is an accident (or act of terrorism). The transition will have to happen one way or the other.



posted on Oct, 17 2018 @ 03:18 PM
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MarineMax and Joi Scientific will undertake joint development to bring H2-based energy solutions to leading vendors in the marine industry.

Hydrogen 2.0 is the world’s first H2 production process based on the clean and affordable extraction of H2 directly from untreated seawater, on-demand, at the point of use. Hydrogen 2.0 technology will allow MarineMax to power boats, yachts, and ships using direct combustion, hybrid electric, or fuel cells to convert the H2 to power. This power can be used for multiple applications—including auxiliary power for lighting, heating, cooling, and cabin services, in addition to primary or secondary propulsion of any vessel.

gasworld.com, Oct. 17, 2018 - Joi Scientific grants first technology license to MarineMax.

Erm, Urban Dictionary has a totally different definition! Just saying.

Anyway, company name aside, a hydrogen powered yacht or assisted sail boat. A decked out catamaran like one of those F1 on the water, Oracle racing ones... *drool*

This a really cool idea! Use seawater to create hydrogen. Use the hydrogen for power to get back pure H2O. This is what you need for the zombie apocalypse!

 


phys.org, Oct. 17, 2018 - Chemists test a new nanocatalyst for obtaining hydrogen.

They used ruthenium and titanium dioxide in various ratios and under various sunlight conditions. Ruthenium seems to work best in the UV spectrum at about 3% solution (same source).

Yet another sign o' the times...

 



Our H2@Scale initiative brings together stakeholders and national labs to figure out how to provide affordable hydrogen production, transport, and storage to be used across multiple sectors like steel manufacturing, energy storage, and other transportation modes including truck, rail, and maritime. Hydrogen technologies can be coupled with nuclear power plants to generate an additional revenue stream. Many utilities are now considering integrating nuclear energy production with other industrial processes to optimize thermal and electrical energy production.

energy.og (PR), Oct. 17, 2018 - Driving to a Hydrogen Future.

First they ring a bell. Then they feed you. Then, they only ring the bell to watch you drool. It is called "conditioning" when done to a dog. For us humans, it is the press release!

Has anybody wondered why automobiles have "Start" buttons? My guess, is so it wont be too freaky to hop into a vehicle that runs on hydrogen instead of gas.

Conditioning takes time!



posted on Nov, 2 2018 @ 12:02 PM
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a reply to: pteridine

A replacement for the Haber-Bosch process is now on the table!



arXiv.org: arXiv:1810.13007 - Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 by Nitrogen-Doped Nanoporous Carbon/Carbon Nanotube Membranes: A Step Towards the Electrochemical CO2 Refinery.


Ammonia, key precursor for fertilizer production, convenient hydrogen carrier and emerging clean fuel, plays a pivotal role in sustaining life on earth. Currently, the main route for NH3 synthesis is via the heterogeneous catalytic Haber-Bosch process (N2+3H2 - 2NH3), which proceeds under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure with a very large carbon footprint. Herein we report that a pristine nitrogen-doped nanoporous graphitic carbon membrane (NCM) can electrochemically convert N2 into NH3 in an aqueous acidic solution under ambient conditions. The Faradaic efficiency and rate of production of NH3 on the NCM electrode reach 5.2% and 0.08 g m-2 h-1, respectively. After functionalization of the NCM with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) these performance metrics are dramatically enhanced to 22% and 0.36 g m-2 h-1, respectively. These efficiencies and rates for the production of NH3 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure are unprecedented. As this system offers the potential to be scaled to industrial proportions there is a high likelihood it might displace the century old Haber-Bosch process.

(Full abstract of paper)

Doped carbon nanotubes to save the day! No more firing natural gas and creating massive amounts of CO2 in the process. The paper is not viewable so I do not know the details.

There is a write up over at nextbigfuture.com - Nanomembrane based tech can replace Haber-bosch process that feeds world.

He does not have much more than the abstract either but does explain how much of the world's energy is used in Haber-Bosch. He ponders the idea of tying the nanomembrane with renewable energy sources to drive ammonia production. If that is a possibility, then we are at the mercy of membranes!

Membrane to make ammonia using renewables. Membrane to make hydrogen fuel from ammonia. A new nitrogen cycle to power the world based on hydrogen.



posted on Nov, 2 2018 @ 01:23 PM
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[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]’s patent-pending design is a single hybrid photoelectrochemical and voltaic (HPEV) cell. The HPEV makes dual use of its photon-excited electrons and thus maximizes its overall efficiency, much as cogeneration power plants achieve high fuel efficiency by squeezing both heat and power from natural gas or coal.

...

Better still, the HPEV cell can be electrically modulated. “You have a reservoir of charges, and you can choose if you want to direct it to hydrogen production or to electricity, depending on the cost of electricity right now,” says Segev. That functionality could be crucial for 100-percent-renewable power grids such as those that Hawaii’s utilities are mandated to build. When demand surges or wind power falls off, hydrogen cogeneration plants equipped with HPEV cells could boost their power output by half to keep the grid balanced.

spectrum.ieee.org, Nov. 1, 2018 - This Photocell Generates Both Power and Hydrogen.

You get dual use out of a single product which in and of itself is brilliant but add in you can regulate which you want when you want it is the key.


Hydrogen production for fuel requires splitting water molecules (H2O) into two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The research reveals a breakthrough toward understanding the mechanism that occurs during the photochemical splitting of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) over iron-oxide photo-electrodes, which involves splitting the photo-oxidation reaction from linear to two sites.

phys.org, Oct. 29, 2018 - Researchers achieve breakthrough in process to produce hydrogen fuel.

Not only did the create a better process, they now know which family of chemical reactions the process in use uses. From here they can figure out the optimizations at each step.

Want to see hydrogen production from renewables? Well now you can!


The project's pilot site was recently inaugurated by Air Liquide, the company that is coordinating HyBalance. As explained in a press release, the electrolyser, "with a capacity of 1.2 MW, enables the production of around 500 kg of hydrogen a day without releasing CO2." This will be enough for 1 000 cars and can also be supplied to hydrogen buses and forklifts, according to a presentation on the project website. Besides industrial customers, the hydrogen that's produced is used to supply the network of five hydrogen stations installed and operated in Denmark.

phys.org - Emissions-free hydrogen production edges closer with new pilot site in Denmark.

More steps towards the hydrogen future. Add in the doped CNT ammonia membrane and the ammonia to hydrogen membrane of OP, you can see where this is headed.



posted on Nov, 2 2018 @ 02:01 PM
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Manganese is known for making stainless steel and aluminum soda cans. Now, researchers say the metal could advance one of the most promising sources of renewable energy: hydrogen fuel cells.

In a study published today (Oct. 29, 2018) in the journal Nature Catalysis, a University at Buffalo-led research team reports on catalysts made from the widely available and inexpensive metal.

...

[Gang Wu] discovered that adding nitrogen to manganese causes internal changes to the metal that makes it a more stable element. In experiments reported in the study, he devised a relatively simple two-step method of adding carbon and a form of nitrogen called tetranitrogen to manganese.

phys.org, Oct. 29, 2018 - Manganese may finally solve hydrogen fuel cells' catalyst problem.

Another catalyst story.


A Palo Alto hydrogen fueling station located between Mountain View and South San Francisco is the latest station to join California’s evolving hydrogen fuel infrastructure.

David Gidlund, co-owner of the Barron Park Shell station, where the hydrogen fueling system will be installed, said that he and his father made the decision to install the station for both the benefit it brings to the environment, and for the longevity of their business. Having this station allows them to offer something that other gas stations typically don’t have.

hydrogenfuelnews.com, Nov. 2, 2018 - New Palo Alto hydrogen fueling station adds to growing US hydrogen infrastructure.

And another hydrogen fueling station in California!


The company behind a first-of-its-kind hydrogen energy project in the North Country says it could cut energy costs in half for local businesses.

The Utah-based company, called Q Hydrogen Solutions, is turning part of Groveton’s former Wausau Paper Mill into a hydrogen power plant.

It will strip hydrogen molecules out of water, and use that hydrogen to power engines.

nhpr.org (NH public radio), Oct. 29, 2018 - Groveton Hydrogen Energy Plan Could Be 'Just The Beginning' Of Path To Lower Costs.

The paper mill shut down. The land surrounding it was turned into an industrial park but the mill was not used. In steps a company that is going to make hydrogen in the mill and sell to the surrounding businesses! They start construction in January. Being a MSM story it all about jobs and politics with hardly a mention of the process being used. They mention the plant should provide 50% of the needs of the surrounding businesses.

I guess it is true what they say. It's all about location, location, location!




posted on Nov, 2 2018 @ 04:36 PM
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The Nebraska Public Power District has begun designing and planning for the conversion of a coal-fueled power plant to a hydrogen-fueled source of electricity.

The Sheldon Station, located outside of Hallam, Nebraska, will eliminate coal in favor of hydrogen in an effort reduce around a million tons of CO2 emissions. The change was announced last year.

NPPD partnered with Monolith Materials, a company that produces excess amounts of hydrogen as a byproduct of manufacturing carbon black. The Monolith factory, currently under construction, will provide the hydrogen and help with the conversion project.

netnebraska.org, Nov. 1, 2018 - Nebraska Public Power District Plans For Hydrogen-Fueled Power Plant.


Carbon black (subtypes are acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar, or ethylene cracking tar.

...

Carbon black is mainly used as a reinforcing filler in tires and other rubber products. In plastics, paints, and inks, carbon black is used as a color pigment.

Wikipedia.


Huh, I did not know such a thing existed!

One of my favorite topics is "up cycling" where during the production of one product what was considered waste is turned into something useful or necessary. In this case, they are taking excess hydrogen from carbon black production and will be using that to create power! It will not be completed until 2021, or 2022-ish, but it is the thought that counts!

I wonder if anybody else is treating hydrogen as a waste product?



posted on Nov, 2 2018 @ 06:09 PM
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Australia is looking like the first place to create so much renewable electricity (wind/solar) that we don’t know what will happen to the grid on a perfect day. RenewAbles don’t necessarily have a good frequency like rotating generation, the grid likes frequency.

Power Station electricity prices during the day are negative but when the sun drops they will have to make their money back, see huge price fluctuations.

One solution is very large fuel cells but creating hydrogen from water is very inefficient and expensive if using gas/coal power. Making it from the sun and being able to transport it means the solar plants can run at 100% when there is sun, increasing the payback on investment and therefore reducing the cost of electricity.

This could be the golden age for man, low cost electricity backed up with hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen vehicles!

Cheaper and cleaner industries, Australia may be about to boom!



posted on Nov, 2 2018 @ 06:54 PM
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a reply to: Forensick


Have you heard of 1414 Degrees?

They are SA firm that is developing thermal storage in liquid silicon. Excess energy is used to heat silicon to its liquid state at 1414 degrees Celsius. It is called "thermal energy storage" (TES) and they are creating a TES System (so you will see both TES and TESS out there when looking).

They have big dreams! Either on- or off-grid and completely scalable.

Homepage: 1414degrees.com.au

Energy storage is becoming very important. Renewables is just making it more of an imperative.

YAY to Australia for showing the way! I like the idea of hydrogen and/or ammonia just in general.




posted on Dec, 6 2018 @ 01:53 PM
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Here is one that I just across. A company called, Electriq Global, has a hydrogen based fuel that is suspended in water! The hydrogenated water is run over... well, here is explanation:


The Electriq Global system contains three key elements, according to a company press release. “The liquid fuel (Electriq~Fuel) which reacts with a catalyst (Electriq~Switch) to release hydrogen on demand, then the exhausted fuel is captured and taken back to an Electriq~Recycling plant where it is replenished with hydrogen for re-use. This entire process is inherently safe and releases zero emissions.”

The Electriq system uses a standardized fuel tank and would reportedly cost less than half the equivalent gasoline price to fill up. Furthermore, it would deliver approximately twice the range of gasoline.

Hydrogenfuelnews.com, A new hydrogen-based green fuel is cheaper and offers more range than gasoline.

It's electriq! (Sorry, couldn't help myself!).

That sounds all great and stuff. You pump it like water, transport it like gas, and the thing doesn't go boom or requires being stored at cryogenic temperatures. But, what's the catch, TEOT?

For the answer, you need to read the Forbes article: Electriq~Global Says Its Water-Based Fuel Can Power Your Car But Details Are Thin.

ETA: When a company keeps its innovation a secret and does not share data then it begins to look sketchy. Kind of like "I have a car engine that gives you 600 mpg but you have to buy the plans first..." That is the gist of the Forbes article.

They teamed up with an Australian company (who else?!!) to work towards delivering trucks. The other fishy sounding thing is they say that they convert regular engines over to their technology. "Hey look. Even more Electriq branded crap you spent money on..."

If this does work, then Hyde (That 70's Show) had it right all along, "This dude invented a car that runs on water, man!"
edit on 6-12-2018 by TEOTWAWKIAIFF because: hit reply too early




posted on Dec, 6 2018 @ 02:10 PM
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More smoke mirrors and don't look behind the curtain just open your wallet.

HAHAHAHAAA!!!




posted on Dec, 6 2018 @ 02:15 PM
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a reply to: mikell


The "twice the range at half the price" is kind of a big tip of the hat!

Their Eletriq-fuel is 97% recyclables and only 3% hydrogen. How that equates to "2X the range" doesn't seem to work out in normal math equations!




posted on Dec, 6 2018 @ 02:31 PM
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HyperSolar’s research team at the University of Iowa published their results in Frontiers in Chemistry, a peer-reviewed scientific journal that details news and breakthroughs within scientific disciplines including electrochemical energy storage and conversion, electrochemical materials science, electrocatalyst and photoelectrochemistry etc. The published paper highlights the scientific team’s successful stable hydrogen production using the ultra-low Pt [platinum] loaded 3D carbon foam that showed excellent mass activities superior to the state-of-the-art commercial platinum/carbon catalyst.

The research, led by Professor Syed Mubeen, utilizes cheap carbon foam support with high surface area as base substrate to load ultra-low amounts of platinum (10x lower than the state-of-the-art commercial electrodes) for efficient and stable production of hydrogen.

globalnewswire.com, Dec. 4, 2018 - HyperSolar Team Recognized in Peer Reviewed Scientific Journal for Economic Hydrogen Innovation Achievement.

Meanwhile, the other Aussie collaboration company, Hypersolar, has actually had their technology published in a peer reviewed journal. The paper is about how they dispersed their platinum nano particles in a carbon foam substrate, across 4 different concentrations, and then compared those samples against each other then against current "state of the art" substrates. Theirs showed better conversion with a total overall lower amount of platinum used.

One company selling something that appears to be too good to be true. Another company taking small steps towards commercialization of a hydrogen production plant and, now, a proven catalyst with a peer reviewed study. Either way, Australia is betting on a hydrogen future!

I hope both work! We need some good news instead of the "drill, baby, drill" mentality.



posted on Dec, 20 2018 @ 02:48 PM
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Found a new company in the US of A doing something that seems like "magic".

They are making hydrogen from a chemical reaction with aluminum. Yup. Those old soda cans!

Insert can to device. The protective layer is stripped away (does not really explain how). Water is placed in contact. The interaction between aluminum and water results in split of the water molecule. Take away the hydrogen for a fuel cell.

At that point, electricity!

Homepage: Trolysis.com

Why does an image of Doc and Marty tossing a soda and the can into Mr. Fusion come to mind?? Even their website uses the term "magic" to describe the process.

At the very least, that should keep me busy for a while!



posted on Jan, 11 2019 @ 04:42 PM
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a reply to: pteridine


The loser to Haber-Bosch was electrolysis the Birkeland-Eyde process. Now a research group has taken part of the forgotten process and instead of using electricity, create a plasma, and interact atmospheric nitrogen with water at the water level with the plasma.


Researchers Julie Renner and Mohan Sankaran have come up with a new way to create ammonia from nitrogen and water at low temperature and low pressure. They've done it successfully so far in a laboratory without using hydrogen or the solid metal catalyst necessary in traditional processes.

"Our approach—an electrolytic process with a plasma—is completely new," said Mohan Sankaran, the Goodrich Professor of Engineering Innovation at the Case School of Engineering.

Plasmas, often referred to as the fourth state of matter (apart from solid, liquid or gas), are ionized clouds of gas, consisting of positive ions and free electrons, which give it the unique ability to activate chemical bonds, including the rather challenging nitrogen molecule, at room temperature.

Renner, a Climo Assistant Professor in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, added that because this new process doesn't need high pressure or high temperature or hydrogen, it makes it scalable—"the ideal kind of technology for a much smaller plant, one with high potential to be powered by renewable energy."

The results of their two-year collaboration were published this month in the journal Science Advances.


"Our approach is similar to electrolytic synthesis of ammonia, which has gained interest as an alternative to Haber-Bosch because it can be integrated with renewable energy," Sankaran said. "However, like the Birkeland-Eyde process, we use a plasma, which is energy intensive. Electricity is still a barrier, but less so now, and with the increase in renewables, it may not be a barrier at all in the future.

"And perhaps most significantly, our process does not produce hydrogen gas," he said. "This has been the major bottleneck of other electrolytic approaches to forming ammonia from water (and nitrogen), the undesirable formation of hydrogen."

The Renner-Sankaran process also does not use a solid metal catalyst that could be one of the reasons ammonia is obtained instead of hydrogen.

"In our system, the ammonia is formed at the interface of a gas plasma and liquid water surface and forms freely in solution," Sankaran said.

phys.org, Jan 11, 2019 - Making ammonia 'greener'.

No steam cracking of natural gas to get hydrogen, no high temperatures or pressures, no catalyst, no excess hydrogen, and a new process to boot.

Sure, still in the lab stage but a sign of hope. Appears the holy grail is to connect up to renewable energy sources. Hope this goes somewhere!



posted on Jan, 11 2019 @ 07:04 PM
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a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

The reaction of aluminum with water to make hydrogen is not magic at all; this is just simple chemistry.

Consider how much electricity is needed to produce aluminum. One can recycle the aluminum for the metal, the most efficient use, or one can react it to produce hydrogen. Making hydrogen to make electricity from a reduced metal is called a losing proposition. If electricity is to be the product, use the aluminum in a battery and skip the hydrogen step which will be more complex and much less efficient. The aluminum can process described is just a way to bleed money from investors.
If small industrial volumes of hydrogen are needed, a common way is steam plus iron. For larger amounts, methane reforming is used.



posted on Jan, 11 2019 @ 10:17 PM
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a reply to: pteridine

In 97-98 the US purchased the rights and designs to a Soviet era powdered aluminum/sea water turbine.
Seawater is injected in to volute and swirls around, powdered aluminum is injected into the volute and
the aluminum oxidizes and produces copious amounts of heat, producing steam and turning a turbine.
The idea was to use it in an high speed underwater vehicle. There were a few articles on the process then it disappeared.



posted on Jan, 12 2019 @ 12:01 AM
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a reply to: punkinworks10

Interesting info. It works better in an acidic or basic solution. The original Drano was lye with aluminum granules. The aluminum reacted with the lye and heated the lye solution which then attacked protein [hair] and body fat along with soap scum.



posted on Jan, 24 2019 @ 02:26 PM
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a reply to: pteridine


It may be basic chemistry but sure take a heck of long time to get it out to public use.

phys.org, June 2018 - Army plans to license nanogalvanic aluminum powder discovery.

hydrogenfuelnews.com, Jan. 24, 2019 - Nanogalvanic aluminum powder generates hydrogen without a catalyst.


The army researchers discovered the unique properties of the nanogalvanic aluminum powder during their investigation of aluminum alloy compositions for other purposes.

Specifically, it was researchers from the lab’s Lightweight and Specialty Metals Branch who made the discovery that one of the compositions can spontaneously generate hydrogen with rapid efficiency in the presence of water.

“The researchers have since demonstrated rapid hydrogen generation rates using powder and tablet forms of the alloy,” said Branch Chief Robert Dowding, reported Phys.org. “The hydrogen has been shown to be useful for powering fuel cells and is expected to power internal combustion engines,” Dowding revealed.


The Army Research Laboratory posted a Federal Register Notice and launched a supporting website that invites companies to submit their ideas on how to best commercialize this unique technology.

After gathering ideas, the laboratory intends to select what it deems to be the most appropriate partners and collaborators. From there, officials have said license exclusivity will then be determined.

The initial advertisement and request for commercialization plan ended on September 4, 2018. The process enabled companies to obtain technical information, samples and converse with inventors for the purpose of “technical due diligence.”


I like the wiggle room term "due diligence" which to me means, "Take as long as we like." It may be basic chemistry but add a term like "nanogalvanic" in there and patent it, well, then I guess you are smarter than I am (probably why I am working for somebody instead of myself!)

To bad aluminum corrodes otherwise I would use Mother Nature and my surroundings to freeze-thaw old cans and engine blocks to nanopowder and go into business making, franchised, "nanogalvanic powder for hydrogen production".




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