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Hydrogen cars helping enviroment???

14 messages,  Last post on Nov 06, 2008 at 6:49 PM

You are in the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Forum.

What is this discussion about? Alternative Fuels

Messages Page 2 of 2

#5 of 14 Re: Hydrogen cars helping enviroment??? [varmint] by mechaengine

Feb 23, 2008 (11:13 am)

Replying to: varmint (Dec 07, 2007 11:56 am)
The other factor that a lot of people tend to forget about the use of Hydrogen in powering our vehicles is that when used in combination with a fuel cell, it is three times as efficient as an internal combustion engine. So it only requires 1/3 as much fuel! If we ran all our cars on Hydrogen using a fuel cell, we would be putting only a 1/3 as much green house gases into our atmosphere from our vehicles, and my fuel costs would be about $1.35 per gallon of gasoline equivalent. Even using the conventional refining processes in practice today.
 
"Storage is the main problem of both types (aside from politics). "
 
 Though politics may be a hurdle that may never be overcome in our generation. There is a solution to the problem of storing Hydrogen safely. The guys that are trying to store hydrogen in pressure vessels at 10,000psi are a bit crazy in my opinion. I'm not sure which I would prefer more: To get into an accident with a tank full of gasoline, or get blown to smithereens by a tank with 10,000psi inside, forget the fact that it is filled with Hydrogen.
 
 A safer alternative to both pressurized and liquid Hydrogen storage, is to use Metal Hydrides. One Scientist that I know of by the name of Dr. Roger Billings spent over 30 million of his own funds doing research into storing Hydrogen using metal hydrides. In one particular demonstration he had the Army come in and fire incendiary bullets at a tank filled with gasoline, another tank pressurized with Hydrogen, and another tank filled with metal hydrides charged with Hydrogen.
 
 The first two tanks exploded violently of course, but the tank with Hydrogen stored with metal hydride had only a small pilot flame come from the holes where the bullet entered and exited the tank.
 
You can learn more about his research by going to www.billingsenergy.com or www.rogerbillings.info

#6 of 14 Re: Hydrogen cars helping enviroment??? by h2fan1

Feb 23, 2008 (2:00 pm)

When symantic mentioned that the commercial way of creating hydrogen is through electrolysis, he stated the belief that most people share -- that electrolysis is the way to produce hydrogen. Granted there are a few more that come to mind, like solar energy or steam reforming, but the problem inevitably boils down to storage.
 
Mechengine is on to something. I checked out Roger Billings' website (www.rogerbillings.info) and found a video that tells me he's the man to keep my eye on. He's already made significant contributions in the hydrogen research field. But it's looking to me like if anything really happens with hydrogen and cars, it's going to be through him. He seems to have a way of making real things happen.

#7 of 14 alternative fuels heping the enviroment? by diegoo

Feb 26, 2008 (2:44 pm)

hello, i am a student from Guatemala and im doing my graduation project about alternative fuels and how would they affected our enviroment... according to what i had investigate alternate fuels would actually benefit our enviroment, but then i saw this forum which said otherwise. I needed to do some interviews to professional people about my topic, but here in Guatemala there are not professional people that can answer the type of questions im asking. As i see, you guys are professional and really know what you are talking about so i would really aprecciate if you could answer some questions for me.. if anyone is interested please tell me so, so i can give you the questions i need you to answer. thanks!

#8 of 14 Hydrogen cars and the environment? by neddog

Mar 12, 2008 (6:43 pm)

Without getting into the issues of whether the production of hydrogen, the fuels used building the vehicles, etc are worse...I have a simple question.
 
If the output from a car running on fuel cells is only water vapor, has anyone looked at whether massive new amounts of water vapor will impact the atmostpheric conditions? I know it probably sounds silly at first blush, but for a long time, nobody ever thought a little bit of carbon emissions would have any impact.
 
If you take all current car owners' future emissions as well as the vast amounts of future emissions coming from China and India, I wonder if that additional water vapor would have any impact.
 
One of the things that makes me wonder is a study I'd heard about based on data collected on the days following 9/11. IF I understood it correctly, the researchers showed that the clouds created by the vapor trails of the jets in the air on any given day actually reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the earth in a small, but significant way. Granted, there doesn't seem to be any harm done, but if we add millions of cars pumping out water vapor...would it add to the effect?
 
Just curious...

#9 of 14 Re: Hydrogen cars helping enviroment??? [symantic] by patrick31

Aug 17, 2008 (6:51 pm)

Replying to: symantic (Nov 29, 2007 12:48 am)
I think they hydrogen produced must be made by using renewable energy, such as solar and wind.... then It is really environment friendly solution.

#12 of 14 Two big questions by pf_flyer HOST

Nov 06, 2008 (11:00 am)

The energy required to produce the hydrogen and lack of an infrastructure to deliver it make hydrogen a real work in progress once you start to look at the realities.

#13 of 14 Re: Two big questions [pf_flyer] by gagrice

Nov 06, 2008 (5:46 pm)

Replying to: pf_flyer (Nov 06, 2008 11:00 am)
You are just too practical for this thread. And many of the others here at Edmund's.
 
I got to thinking about what someone posted saying that it is impossible to keep hydrogen contained of a long period of time. I may not drive my car for a week at a time. Does that mean I would get into my Civic Hydrogen car and find my hydrogen had all leaked out? I am thinking that the ethanol in our gas evaporates also. Supposedly the systems are air tight. Does that prevent all evaporation?

#14 of 14 I know by pf_flyer HOST

Nov 06, 2008 (6:49 pm)

Silly me, I keep THINKING.

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