The output temperature of PEM fuel cells, 80-100C, is not hot enough typically for reforming hydrogen rich fuel. That said, hydrnol can be used with ICE’s replacing gasoline and diesel.
The beauty of hydrnol is that it acts like gasoline and diesel
when you go to transport it. This is also an advantage with Magnesium Hydride Slurry.

The ideal way to fuel fuel cells is to release hydrogen from a solid which will effectively act as a battery. Lithium Borohydride, or some other hydride, may eventually make it’s way onto cars. Currently,
solid storage systems for hydrogen are too heavy, the release rate may not be adequate, and the temperature that the hydride releases hydrogen at may also pose a problem. Solid storage of hydrogen is the safest way to store the largest amount of the gas
for the longest period of time. I’m hopeful that a solid storage system will make it onto cars and obviate the need to compress hydrogen gas storing it in high pressure tanks. At least hydrogen stations can store enough hydrogen to fill a 1000 cars in theory if they use special metal hydride tanks.

Let’s look at one angle I haven’t discussed and that is the pollution angle. If you steam reform methane and use the hydrogen to displace gasoline use, that will result in a net reduction in CO2 emissions. Not good enough? Solar to hydrogen, blue green algae to hydrogen, using catalysts to attack the oxygen in water, using lasers to release hydrogen from water, thermally cracking water using a nuclear reactor with very high output temperatures,
and the list can probably go on for a long time. The length this
list can be stretched out to gives me confidence that there are
enough good ways to get, distribute, and use hydrogen that it is worthwhile to pursue the gas while scientists pursue better batteries.

Let say it takes 50 kilowatt hours of electricity to electrolyze enough water to completely fill a fuel cell car’s high pressure tanks. It takes 300 billion gallons of water to manufacture all the gasoline that the cars in the U.S. use where it would take only 100 billion gallons of water to replace all that gasoline with hydrogen. An important point to realize is that many methods of releasing hydrogen from water also release the oxygen which is another useful gas. I believe a single wind mill in the Columbia River Gorge produces 20 kw of electricity at full speed. So 2 1/2 wind mills at full speed will run an electrolyzer long enough to produce enough hydrogen to fill a fuel cell car. Let’s say that these 2 1/2 wind mills are running at full speed for 6 hours, how many fuel cell cars will be filled? Some of the electricity produced has to be used directly let’s say. But during off peak hours if there is a really good wind storm… It isn’t impossible to get multiples of 50 kw from the wind farms in the Columbia River Gorge. Let’s say that these wind mills typically run at 25% output. That is very pessimistic. That means you need 10 wind mills to electrolyze enough water to fill one car under normal conditions. A storm hits, those 10 wind mills might produce enough power to fill 4 fuel cell cars.

If you have to burn a fuel or use it in an electrochemical process, the best choice is hydrogen. Hydrogen is the best choice because it is the only fuel known to man that will not harm the environment when it is burned or used electrochemically. Ethanol fails the not harmful when burned test. Wood fails. Coal definitely fails.
Gasoline fails. Biodiesel fails. Diesel fails. Methanol fails. How many gases/liquids are there that can be burned without CO2 being emitted? I believe that there are only 2 gases, hydrogen
and oxygen, which are not hydrocarbons. If I’m wrong, somebody please step up and explain providing scientific proof.

There is this myth that people who believe in hydrogen don’t believe in cleaning up the transportation sector. There is this
myth that hydrogen is an idea from big OIL. How is some fuel
that every country in the world can produce domestically
something that OPEC has an incredibly huge interest in?
If gasoline is reformed to get hydrogen, that is unacceptable.
If natural gas is reformed to get hydrogen, that is better than
reforming gasoline but still not an ideal solution. If water in
one way or another using clean energy is cracked to get
hydrogen, that is a beautiful thing. If most or even some of the
renewable clean methods of getting hydrogen get commercialized,
hydrogen will not be something that any country in the world will be able to have a monopoly over.

If every major gas station with four lanes or more is outfitted with
a natural gas pump and a reformation system that dispenses compressed hydrogen gas and these stations remain profitable,
there will be a net improvement in air quality. If there is a source
of hydrogen, it is more likely that there will be hydrogen cars. If
there are hydrogen cars, it is more likely that there will be hydrogen
stations. The government needs to step in and solve this chicken and the egg problem. It wouldn’t take converting every major station to see if it is worthwhile to do so nation wide. I am proposing that the U.S. government subsidize one hydrogen/natural gas filling station near a major thoroughfare in every single state for 10 years. If after 10 years hydrogen cars have not hit the commercial market at reasonable prices, the government can shift to whatever makes the most sense. This act by the U.S. government of guaranteeing that there will be at least one hydrogen station in every single state near a major thoroughfare would reduce the risk for the auto companies
of mass producing hydrogen cars.

As far as the idea that there are fuel cells that don’t use hydrogen,
they aren’t clean and they primarily use fossil fuels. Hydrogen is the fuel of choice if you know how to renewably produce it, dispense it, and use it with a fuel cell. Solar to hydrogen, not electrolysis mind you, is very promising.

Carcus 1 I have been in a memory hole that reminds me of a time when we were building a certain bridge for the Nipponese as I have been most sick. But duty calls and they prod me with their “bayonets”. Again, thank you for the Mr. Death titillations.

The continued discourse over the concept Volt is MOST revealing. I remember the ’57 Chevy I once saw and recall a distinct resemblance to the dash of the original Volt. Ah, too bad. It was, ah, titillating.

Do keep in contact. Lwesson@hotmail.com or Face Book which is a useful connect as I have found for the movie biz. Lwesson

Back to the fever oh, and a nice glass of red wine.

Regards from the still “living”, Higgins and the Lads