H2CAR YABB -- Yet Another Biofuel Breakthrough

[Dogmudgeon]

It's called (tentatively) the H2CAR process.

This one looks promising, having the potential of producing truly carbon-neutral fuels provided we have enough energy to make them.

I have learned to not hold out too much hope for The Solution, especially from reading so many vapid (as in vaporware) happy-talk press releases over the past three or four years, like the solar PV breakthrough utilizing Milk of Magnesia (a.k.a. magnesium oxide).

Nonetheless, if the process becomes practical, it may solve at least one set of our environmental problems. Keep in mind that there seems to be a number of "gotchas" remaining, at least in my own feeble estimation. For example, a significant amount of extra energy will be needed, though the process makes more efficient use of the starting biofuel. And for coal conversion, the overall filthiness of raw coal still needs to be dealt with, even beyond H2CAR. Since my own grounding in chemistry is scandalously weak, I'll leave it to the professional chemists to sort through it with a keener eye.

Cliquez-Vous Içi, Baby --> Sustainable fuel for the transportation sector (Rakesh Agrawal, Navneet R. Singh, Fabio H. Ribeiro, and W. Nicholas Delgass; doi:10.1073/pnas.0609921104; PNAS published online Mar 14, 2007)

Abstract:

A hybrid hydrogen-carbon (H2CAR) process for the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels is proposed wherein biomass is the carbon source and hydrogen is supplied from carbon-free energy.

To implement this concept, a process has been designed to co-feed a biomass gasifier with H2 and CO2 recycled from the H2-CO to liquid conversion reactor. Modeling of this biomass to liquids process has identified several major advantages of the H2CAR process. (i) The land area needed to grow the biomass is <40% of that needed by other routes that solely use biomass to support the entire transportation sector. (ii) Whereas the literature estimates known processes to be able to produce
30% of the United States transportation fuel from the annual biomass of 1.366 billion tons, the H2CAR process shows the potential to supply the entire United States transportation sector from that quantity of biomass. (iii) The synthesized liquid provides H2 storage in an open loop system. (iv) Reduction to practice of the H2CAR route has the potential to provide the transportation sector for the foreseeable future, using the existing infrastructure. The rationale of using H2 in the H2CAR process is explained by the significantly higher annualized average solar energy conversion efficiency for hydrogen generation versus that for biomass growth. For coal to liquids, the advantage of H2CAR is that there is no additional CO2 release to the atmosphere due to the replacement of petroleum with coal, thus eliminating the need to sequester CO2.

--p!

[EVDebs]

1. Zinc-air fuel cells using potassium hydroxide/zinc oxide pellets

was shut down at UC Berkeley (was to have been highlight of Sydney 2000 Olympics) so oil companies, BP now has joint UC/BP contract, could prevail. Big bucks had already been spent to create the hydrogen powered car system since it could potentially continue using oil/petroleum fuel and scale down the use of gasoline into the future. Platinum-catalyst hydrogen fuel cells (platinum is at what an OUNCE today ? vs. Zinc at around .50 cents to 1.50 a POUND) were deemed a better economic deal.

Go figure.

[TheWraith]

2. Unlike with zinc, the platinum in a hydrogen fuel cell isn't consumed in the reaction.

Further, while they have great specific energy, zinc-air batteries (and by extension, reloading batteries or "fuel cells") have a high tendancy to self-discharge, needing either strictly engineered conditions or a lot of maintainence.

[EVDebs]

3. Not according to this 'recyclable' system

http://www.electric-fuel.com/evtech/index.shtml#regen

and this site

http://www.evionyx.com/metal_fuel_cycle.htm

"Many organizations are chasing hydrogen fuel cells as a solution. Yet, hydrogen fuel cell technology faces innumerable obstacles. Hydrogen as a fuel is not only expensive and difficult to produce, but also extremely flammable and unstable to transport. This means that hydrogen will require an exceedingly complex and costly infrastructure to support it, if and when all its technical challenges are resolved. eVionyx, however, envisages a different solution for the future: metal as the ideal energy source.

Metals, such as zinc, aluminum, and magnesium store vast amounts of energy. Besides, they are naturally abundant, inexpensive, recyclable, and environmentally friendly. Perhaps most significantly, metals are intrinsically nonflammable and safe to handle, which affords us the opportunity to build a metal fuel economy with a simple, affordable infrastructure. In fact, the process of distributing and harvesting energy from metals is perfectly analogous to the way we distribute and harvest energy from planted crops. "

Lawrence Livermore Labs was supposed to 'commecialize' Zinc Air Fuel Cells,
http://www.llnl.gov/str/News1297.html

""Zinc-air technology moves toward commercialization

Zinc-air fuel-cell technology, long a promising source of clean energy and stored-energy recovery, begins a move toward commercialization with the recent signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between Lawrence Livermore and Power Air Tech, USA, a consortium of Australian companies. Discussions are under way to bring other U.S. companies into the consortium.
The next step is a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between the Laboratory and private industry, which could mean about $100 million of industry funding-$30 million for further research and development on a zinc-air fuel cell and its zinc recovery unit at Lawrence Livermore over the next four to five years and an estimated $70 million for commercialization and manufacturing applications of the refuelable zinc-air technology and recovery unit.
Zinc-air fuel cells mix zinc pellets and electrolyte with air to create electricity. They create five times as much power as lead-acid batteries of the same weight. The Livermore design is unique because it is refuelable, and the spent zinc can be recycled into zinc pellets.
The agreement initially is intended to commercialize several kinds of units: large units for utilities to meet peak power demand, small units as an alternative to gasoline and diesel generators for uninterruptable power supplies, units for heavy and lightweight vehicles, and large uninterrupted power supplies for hospitals and airline reservation systems.
John Landerer, on behalf of Power Air Tech, USA, noted, "We will make every effort to have this technology on display in Sydney by the time of the 2000 Olympic Games."""

...but obviously BP and the oil companies prevailed and squashed this promising commerialization program

BP selects UC Berkeley to lead $500 million energy research consortium with partners Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, University of Illinois
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/02/01_ebi.shtml

So, without the big bucks of big oil behind it, Zinc Air Fuel Cells were left in the dust so that the country could continue on the hydrogen/petroleum draw-down that will last until 2031,

See Plan B 2.0 'Learning from China'
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB2/PB2ch1_ss3.htm

[Dogmudgeon]

4. Kickin' it

Three days after the discussion turned into a small zinc technology chat, someone has posted the same thing, as -- guess what -- a press release.

If you missed this, here's your chance.

--p!