Posted on 05/26/2004 9:48:04 AM PDT by Rebelbase
Status: Manufacturing Facility Nearing Completion
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United Nuclear is currently in final testing, and will shortly be producing Hydrogen conversion systems / Hydrogen generators for most fuel injected, Gasoline powered vehicles. Powering a vehicle by Hydrogen is by no means a new idea, and in fact, almost all automobile manufacturers are currently developing a new generation of vehicles that run on Hydrogen as opposed to Gasoline. This new generation of vehicles are essentially electric cars that use a Fuel Cell instead of a battery to run the electric motor. Using a chemical process, Fuel Cells in these new vehicles convert the stored Hydrogen on board, and the Oxygen in the air, directly into electricity to power their electric motors. These new vehicles are very efficient, and in fact are more efficient than any internal combustion engine. The problem is that these new vehicles are years away from production, are very expensive, and converting to using Hydrogen fuel in this manner requires you to buy a new ( and expensive ) vehicle. All Hydrogen/Fuel Cell systems currently under development by large manufacturers have you purchase Hydrogen as you would Gasoline.
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What's Real? A lot has been written about converting vehicles to run hydrogen. Unfortunately, a lot of what you'll find on the internet is simply untrue. Storage Since you can't make Hydrogen quickly enough to power a car in real time, you must produce it separately, and store it as you store your Gasoline fuel supply in your vehicle now. 1. Store the Hydrogen as a compressed gas. We'll cover each option in order. 1. If you choose to store the Hydrogen as a compressed gas, you'll need HUGE tanks, and many of them, since Hydrogen isn't very dense, so a tank really can't hold all that much. In addition, you'll be driving a giant bomb. In a collision, expect to die in a huge fireball/explosion. 2. Choosing liquid does solve the density problem since liquids are far more dense than gasses, so you can reduce the amount of tanks and their sizes required to power the car. The new problem that pops up is the fact the liquid Hydrogen in cryogenic... in short REALLY cold. It requires vacuum-thermos ( dewar ) tanks and vents to exhaust the boiling Hydrogen gas. You'll also have to find a source for liquid Hydrogen which is far more expensive than Gasoline. You've also now increased you danger factor when it comes to a collision. Not only will you have more Hydrogen gas spewing around that's going to explode and burn, but you'll also have a liquid spraying about that's over 400 degrees below zero. Once you add in the added complexity of the system due to the cryogenic liquid, your vehicle will wind up being a giant, low efficiency, rolling bomb that costs more than your house, and costs far more to run than it did on Gasoline. 3. The 3rd option is simply the only way to go. There are materials call Hydrides that absorb Hydrogen like a sponge absorbs water. Typically, the tanks are filled with granulated Hydrides, and Hydrogen is pressurized into the material. Hydrides have many advantages over liquid & gas. One is that the density of the Hydrogen stored in the Hydride can be GREATER than that of liquid Hydrogen. This translates directly into smaller and fewer storage tanks. Our vehicle starts on Gasoline and runs for about 5 minutes to heat everything up ( including the Hydride ). The time it takes to heat up the Hydride is about as long as it takes the heater in your car to warm up and blow out hot air. As soon at the Hydride is sufficiently warm, Hydrogen is released from the tanks and the on-board computer detects the presence of Hydrogen pressure. The only exhaust products from using Hydrogen as a fuel are steam ( water vapor ) and a tiny amount of Nitrogen Oxides. It's about as clean burning as you can get. |
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"Short Range" Hydride tank placement in Corvette. |
Close-up shot of the updated Hydride tank installation. |
Its da' bomb!
And there's this neat bridge in New York ....
We just blew a few billion $ on the bug-like irakis with less to show for it than the fraction of the sunk into fuel cells.
What's the energy density of metal hydride storage? I'd be concerned about volume (room for it) and mass (added weight)...
You think of Led Zeppelin?
NOT
BUMP
You'd need a gas tank about the size of a school bus for hydrogen to take you very far (like a tank of gasoline).
You'd need a gas tank about the size of a school bus for hydrogen to take you very far (like a tank of gasoline).
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......
No... Its a bomb.... get rear-ended and ... well, just think of a Ford Pinto combined with The Hindenberg.
The other part missed in the hype is that hydrogen is a storage medium, not a source of energy. It's a way of transferring the pollution to a single location, but we still need a source to generate the power to strip the H from the O2.
Who would want compressed gas cylinders in their car. Major accident waiting to happen. I've seen other companies researching using hydrogen as a solid and that makes much more sense to me.
This is kind of stupid. All that extra weight, expense and complexity, and it likely won't take your driving costs down very much. Might as well get a Toyota or Honda hybrid and save gas that way.
However, a purpose-built hydrogen car could save you loads of money. And, yes, you can recharge at home because you can produce hydrogen from water from your wall outlet -- but I wouldn't put the generator in an enclosed space unless you want an oxygen fire. Setups like this don't give you free gas, they're simply making your home electricity portable in an efficient manner. Gas bill goes to zero, electricity bill goes up a bit.
All it takes is a simple electrolysis system and an extension cord to run to your neighbor's house.
Where's the Nitrous tank?
Hydrogen corvette, 0-60 in just under 30 minutes...
You know that someones got their hand in someones pocket in that big white house in DC. Propane works, it is an existing technology and it is proven...
They better check out the impact on homeowner's insurance rates.
Oxygen Material Safety Data Sheet
(excerpts)HEALTH HAZARD DATA
TOXICOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
Oxygen is nontoxic under usual conditions of use. Breathing pure oxygen at one atmosphere, however, may produce cough and chest pains within 8-24 hours. Concentrations of 60% may produce these symptoms in several days. At two atmospheres symptoms occur in 2-3 hours. Partial pressure of oxygen in excess of two atmospheres may produce a variety of central nervous system manifestations including tingling of fingers and toes, visual and hearing disturbances, abnormal sensations, impaired coordination, confusion, muscle twitching, and seizures resembling those of epilepsy. Severe hazards may be present when confusion and impaired judgment lead to operational errors. Infants exposed to oxygen levels in excess of 35-40% may suffer permanent visual impairment or blindess due to retrolental fibroplasia.FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARD DATA
SPECIAL FIRE FIGHTING PROCEDURES
Oxygen is nonflammable, but supports and VIGOROUSLY ACCELERATES COMBUSTION of flammables. To fight fires, Shut off sources of oxygen and fight like conventional fire.
UNUSUAL FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARDS
Oxygen is nonflammable, but supports and VIGOROUSLY ACCELERATES COMBUSTION of flammables. Some materials which are noncombustible in air will burn in the presence of oxygen.
Yeah, you can make your own hydrogen at home,
but whatcha gonna do with all that excess Oxygen you're gonna be left with?
sorry, but this looks fishy to me... the picture looks doctored and "united nuclear" appears no where on google news....
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