<VV> Hydrogen, was: Cold fusion news-no Corvair but potential source of p...

[jvhroberts at aol.com]

 I agree with nearly everything, but air burning hydrogen engines don't suffer the same problems as LOX/LH2 rocket motors! Hydrogen internal combustion engines and gas turbines work fine, fuel management has been the biggest challenge, as there are no off the shelf gaseous hydrogen injectors! 
Bottom line, you get more efficiency burning NG directly in an engine than you do getting H2 from it and then burning it. 
Cradle to grave is the way to measure total efficiency, not just in the car. 


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: John Kepler <jekepler at amplex.net>
To: jvhroberts at aol.com
Cc: RoboMan91324 at aol.com; airvair at earthlink.net; virtualvairs at corvair.org; BobHelt at aol.com
Sent: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 7:21 am
Subject: RE: <VV> Hydrogen, was:  Cold fusion news-no Corvair but potential source of p...













 Uh, Robo, where does the fuel come from to produce the hydrogen?

Folks that insist they can define thermodynamic terms by using an on-line,
general information dictionary are inherently going to have problems
understanding things like thermodynamics and fuel-cycles!  Unless you are
mining a comet for the hydrogen, it's a lot closer to a battery than a fuel!
BTW, hydrogen makes a LOUSY motor-fuel....the energy density just isn't
there and it has crummy stoichiometry to get it to consistently deflagrate
rather than detonate (it took billions of dollars and nearly a decade to
develop the hydrogen-fueled RL-10 and J-2 engines for NASA...with numerous
spectacular failures along the way!).  A hydrogen-fuel reciprocating
internal combustion engine attempting to run efficiently should be more than
willing to slag itself with changes in altitude, air-density, and humidity!

FWIW, virtually ALL commercial hydrogen is manufactured by the
thermal/catalytic decomposition of methane (natural gas)....electrolytic
production of hydrogen is a terribly inefficient (25% give or take), highly
energy consumptive process with NO commercial viability.  Even with
electricity "too cheap to meter", it probably won't make economic sense.
Thermal decomposition of water probably has more viability!