March 24, 2014 11:44AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
March 24, 2014 04:02PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
March 25, 2014 06:00AM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 799 : O Porto |
Innovation is always good!
The key here is fewer moving parts, smaller end lighter engine, higher compression ratios. Hidrogen, like electricity, can't be found in nature and are always more complex to produce and store than burning some sort of fuel. Gasoline (while there is some), Alcohol, or LPG, natural gas, etc there are a number of choices out there to exploit, and better engines will be needed. Alcohol can be produced out of sugar cane grown in farms, those compete with food crops for space. Electricity is good for trains and mass transit, where an overhead wire can be used to feed the vehicles, avoiding the need for heavy and expensive batteries. There is not an easy solution, the more options the better! |
March 25, 2014 10:37AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Sadly, there is only so much energy that can be harvested from a gas/air mixture and technology has just about reached that with any kind of internal combustion engine.
The claims of potential 100mpg are a long way from reality yet and I doubt they will be achieveable with the current regulations making cars so heavy because of all the idiot proofing safety measures legislated into them. The engine looks cool but the car companies aren't likely to switch over to something like this until it is proven and they can see a real bottom line improvement in profits. If the same time and effort had been put into battery technologies, we would have all been driving electric cars a long time ago...big oil doesn't want that to happen though :-( |
March 25, 2014 10:43AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Jose, The problem with all those fuels(except hydrogen) is that no matter what engine you use; they all produce CO2 and other pollutants. Hydrogen production is becoming easier and less expensive. It's not there yet but if the money is spent to do the research and roll out the infrastructure, hydrogen will be viable as a fuel. Of course then it will make more sense to use it in generating electricity via fuelll cells than burining it in internal combustion engines ;-) |
March 25, 2014 03:02PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 87 : Rigaud Quebec |
The problem with the fuel cell generating electricity is that the cells must be extremely large to produce the same amount of energy that 'burning' hydrogen does. Salut, Bob P. |
March 26, 2014 07:21AM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 799 : O Porto |
Untill you have hidrogen produced out of inexpensive nuclear fusion electricity, H2 will be the most expensive fuel there is.
Today, producing H2 will leave CO2 and other pollution, just as burning wood or gas or anything else. There is no such thing as "clean energy". There is cleaner options than others, and technology must address the problems and bring better solutions for the future. |
March 26, 2014 11:36AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Having worked extensively in fuel cell technology over the past 8 years, I can tell you that today's fuel cells are much more efficient. The fuel cells that are used in city busses don't take up much more room then the diesel engines they replace. The ones being developed for auto motive use are also no larger than the 4 and 6 cylinder engines they are intended to replace. The standalone generators used to power emergency communications during disasters are housed in enclosures not much bigger than a full sized suit case. For the automotive uses, no where near as much power is required when the vehicles are propelled by electric motors. We have to stop thinking in terms of huge amounts of horse power for cars that is rarely if ever used. |
March 26, 2014 11:39AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
There are so many methods and materials that can be used to produce hydrogen that CO2 need not be a byproduct of it's production. It may well still be an expensive fuel but that is only because research and developement haven't reached critical mass yet. As soon as the oil companies stop spending billions of dollars to fight the inevitable then and only then will progress be made. |
March 26, 2014 03:25PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 87 : Rigaud Quebec |
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March 26, 2014 07:30PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
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March 28, 2014 03:39AM
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Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 799 : O Porto |