Re: firewater? [OFF-TOPIC]

["rlsusenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <NoSuchPerson@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dave Houston wrote:
> RickH <passport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> On Sep 11, 10:36 am, nob...@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote:
>>> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BURNING_SEAWATER?SITE=AP&SECTI...
>>
>> This is huge if true, from my understanding cracking out hydrogen has
>> been the hurdle for the efficient development of fuel cells.  Current
>> research is pursuing getting the hydrogen from methane, ethane,
>> propane, butane, etc.  But if solar power can be used to generate the
>> needed RF energy, releasing the hydrogen on a massive scale, fuel
>> cells can be manufacured and recharged at a very low cost considering
>> seawater and sunshine are very abundant and free.  Amazing.

There's nothing amazing about this.  I don't understand the hullabaloo.

Nowhere does it say how much energy is required to extract the hydrogen.
  Electrolysis does the same thing -- but the chemical energy
represented by the hydrogen liberated is less than that used to liberate
it.

Unless Roy has come up with some new, magical laws of physics and
chemistry, the same thing will be true of his RF electrolysis process.

> I have no idea whether it's true. It does recall those secret atomizer
> gizmos you were to fit in your fuel line. Has anyone noticed Exxon fencing
> off beaches and running pipelines into the water?
>
> OTOH, this certainly appears to be for real.
>
>      http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070515WoodallHydrogen.html
>

Sigh. Again, there's no huge breakthrough here.  This is an energy
storage system (just like the electrolysis ones), where the energy is
stored in elemental aluminum.  After the reaction, you have aluminum
oxide and hydrogen (the hydrogen can either be run through a fuel cell
or combusted to produce energy).  The aluminum oxide has to be converted
back into aluminum -- this is conventional, energy-intensive aluminum
smelting, and is the equivalent of recharging the batteries.  More
energy is expended in smelting the aluminum than is liberated by the Al
+ H2O => H + AlO2 reaction.

The only real breakthrough here is that you're using a chemical process
to crack the H20, instead of an electrolysis process, which means you
have a _potentially_ light and small energy storage system, suitable for
use in portable devices -- including cars.

Make no mistake:  This is still hydrogen as an energy storage or energy
transportation medium -- not as fuel.

And, of course, all of this is off-topic.