Purdue team pushes hydrogen research further

Prof. Woodall’s research on hydrogen production seems to be bearing fruit.  A recent press release indicates they have developed catalyst composition that optimizes hydrogen production.   Apparently, the trouble was a dual liquid-phase system that would emerge in attempting to reach the desired composition (in this case, the pathway matters).  The article describes how this was overcome:

The researchers had earlier discovered that slow-cooling and fast-cooling the new 95/5 aluminum alloy produced drastically different versions. The fast-cooled alloy contained aluminum and the gallium-indium-tin alloy apparently as a single phase. In order for it to produce hydrogen, it had to be in contact with a puddle of the liquid gallium-indium-tin alloy.

“That was a very exciting finding because it showed that the alloy would react with water at room temperature to produce hydrogen until all of the aluminum was used up,” Woodall said.

This is probably an accomplishment for a chemistry department, but dual liquid-phase dynamics is a core field of study in Chemical Engineering.  It’s no wonder it took less than a year to solve this “hurdle” (real hurdles are mass transfer issues like those found in aerobic fermentation systems).   Prof.  Woodall’s lab seems to be a great job of pushing this technology forward.

The article also indicates that the lab is thinking of using this technology as a means of hydrogen “transport” in cars.  Meaning you would have a gas tank full of these metal (aluminum-gallium-tin) brickettes that you would pour water on to generate hydrogen inside your car.

That sounds really cumbersome and prone to operational variability.   A better solution would be to build a low footprint hydrogen production system to generate hydrogen on-site at a gas station (or one central station that services a region of stations).  The water distribution part of the equation would be settled – use the tap with a water softener if necessary.  Drivers wouldn’t have to bother with brickettes – just filling with hydrogen which, albeit in early stages, has developed solutions already.

Furthermore, the amount of material that can be in circulation in the auto fleet would be significant.  Having an industrial-scale solution would seem to be an easier sell to customers, OEMs, and filling stations than managing the brickettes.

 We’ll keep an eye on this one.

Previous post:

-  Hydrogen from Metal

E. Coli used to produce Hydrogen

Researchers at Texas A&M have modified E. Coli to produce hydrogen with extremely high throughput compared to the natural strain.

Press Release:

By genetically modifying the bacteria, Thomas Wood, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has “tweaked” a strain of E. coli so that it produces substantial amounts of hydrogen. Specifically, Wood’s strain produces 140 times more hydrogen than is created in a naturally occurring process, according to an article in “Microbial Biotechnology,” detailing his research.

This is very interesting development as it could lead to a new usage for hydrogen. E. Coli is a very well-known and utilized throughout industry. So this type of development for a production of hydrogen makes a lot of sense from a technology perspective.

Hydrogen Energy to build IGCC facility in UAE

Hydrogen Energy will build their third IGCC facility in Abu Dhabi.

From the Hydrogen Energy Website:

Hydrogen gas would be used to fuel gas turbines and generate 420MW of low-carbon electricity. This project alone would provide more than 5% of all Abu Dhabi’s current power generation capacity at a cost equiv

The CO2 would be transported and injected into a producing oil field and used to replace natural gas that is currently being injected into the oil field to maintain pressure. This natural gas could then be used either domestically or for export. This process could be deployed at scale and release a significant amount of additional natural gas for Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.

The CO2 injected into the oil field could also enable previously unrecoverable oil to be produced. If this technology was widely deployed it could boost Abu Dhabi oil production by some 1-3 billion barrels. As the oil is forced out the CO2 would remain stored securely and permanently beaneath the oil field’s natural impervious seal.

This is an interesting prospect as it will strictly use CO2 injection to replace the natural gas being used in this process.

Hydrogen Energy already has two such projects underway – Carson, California and Kwinana, Australia. This is a big project that should yield some great learnings around this type of system. Mostly the viability for long term CO2 sequestration underground. While CO2 injection is done regularly in the oil industry, none have been integrated into this type of operation.

California Hydrogen Highway loses support

California’s Hydrogen Highway project has had some set-backs as of late.  This project is an initiative sponsored by the State of California to install hydrogen refueling stations at 100 service stations throughout California.  The idea is to provide a way for a hydrogen car driver (and municipal busses in the mean time) to drive from southern to northern California without concern for running out of hydrogen.  Most notably has been a pull-back from PG&E from developing several fueling stations. From the San Jose Merc article:

“Things have changed,” said Jill Egbert, manager of PG&E’s Clean Air Transportation division. “We feel hydrogen is a long-term solution, but there is no one technology that will be the silver bullet to meet transportation needs. From a resource standpoint, we feel a more pressing need to see how electric vehicles will affect our grid.”

While this is certainly a bit of a disappointment to lose PG&E’s support, it’s not terribly surprising.  PG&E has been doing a lot of development on Vehicle to Grid technologies for PHEVs.  In the short term, that sounds like a really productive use of their time and attention.  PHEVs have gotten a great push in the last two years – certainly more than hydrogen – and could represent a great near-term opportunity for them.

But I disagree that hydrogen is necessarily a long-term development.  While there are clearly difficulties with hydrogen, one of the big ones is the lack of retail infrastructure.  The hydrogen highway is a great way for a government entity to partner with the private sector to provide this platform.  It makes investments by GM and Honda – both with prototype fuel cell models – more worthwhile.

This isn’t the end of the world for this project.  I’m a big fan of hydrogen – albeit it’s more hope than technology that is driving my sentiment.  I think it would be a great option for fueling cars and other parts of our powered world.  While hydrogen can’t be produced and managed very well, it can be done.  With a small number of hydrogen cars on the road, we might have just enough to get started in the coming year.  We can spend the next 50 years developing the rest of the infrastructure that’s needed.  Afterall, we didn’t really have any streets when the car was invented.  So I don’t think we have to wait for all the planets to align in order to get started.

Provoq concept Video

GM to announce Hydrogen FC Cadillac Crossover

GM has announced the Cadillac Provoq Fuel Cell crossover concept at the Consumer Electronic show in Las Vegas.  The overall look is something like a Saturn Vue with a Cadillac fascia and interior. It’s clearly some lovely drawings. I will be at the Detroit Auto Show next week and will endeavor to get a photo of the actual concept.

It’s nice to see that GM hasn’t given up on its hydrogen initiatives. While things these days seem to be all hybrids and ethanol, hydrogen still has some great opportunities associated with it. It seems that Honda has beaten GM to the gate with their FCX Clarity model. But this concept seems like a really exciting car upon which to develop their own fuel cell technology while staying true to their core market’s demand for crossovers.

This is an interesting step for Cadillac. This brand, while making great strides in recent years, still struggles against the Lexus’, Mercedes, and BMWs of the world. This is a sharp looking concept that could continue to push the brand’s image to include “green” along with luxurious and high tech.

This is a concept car so not everything on it is very reasonable. Most notably are the solar panels in the sun roof that are to power all the interiors (lights, radio, etc). That is actually a very reasonable design that, if plausibly introduced into an automotive supply chain, should be introduced in future Cadillac models.

If I were a betting man, I’d say Cadillac will make some version of this in the coming months. This system uses the E-Flex system (from the Chevy Volt Concept).  Given that GM is going to produce the Volt, it seems reasonable that this type of vehicle isn’t far behind (perhaps not with hydrogen as an option, but with a more conventional fuel).  However, there’s also been an announcement of a 2-Mode hybrid Saturn Vue. I don’t see any reasons why this concept couldn’t be swung into this same platform.   So there are many options upon which to develop this concept.  I would assume that GM move forward with at least one of them.  I think I want one.

Images from Wired.com

A look at 2007 and 2008

2007 has been a rough one for the biofuels industry. In hindsight, it will be noted as a turning point for the industry. There are three big developments that propagated during this year:

• Corn ethanol development stalled due to high corn prices and low ethanol prices. The fallout has been a receding of enthusiasm for ethanol from the financial industry and a second look from the agricultural community (not to mention consumers who don’t like high beef prices).
• Several start-up companies emerged focusing on advanced biofuels like biobutanol or cheap, non-corn ethanol. The kick-off of this initiative was the $387 Million given by the DOE earlier this year to fund several cellulosic ethanol initiatives.
• Real industry movement on electric vehicle systems (Tesla, GM, Ford, Toyota)

2007, however, should be known as a disappointment. We were supposed to have cellulosic ethanol this year. And even now, it’s still a question mark.