On 3/10/06, Jed Rothwell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Jones Beene wrote:
>Nuclear energy has heretofore been the most likely way, and GE is in
>on that avenue also. Splitting water using electricity from energy
>sources such as wind, solar, OTEC, waves or tidal flow is too
>expensive to be practical.
It would not be expensive according to my calculations -- see below.
The energy cost works out to ~$3.39 per gallon of gasline equivalent.
Perhaps the cost of capital equipment would add significantly to that.
>Researchers at GE now are claiming a less expensive process to
>directly produce hydrogen via electrolysis for about $3 per
>kilogram. One kg of H2 is comparable to a gallon of gasoline in energy . . .
Is it? Lessee . . . The heat of formation of water 285,800 joules per
mole . . . There are 2 g of H per mole of water, multiply by 1000 to
make a kilogram . . . 143 MJ, versus 132 MJ/kg of gasoline. Yes, that's close.
Okay, getting back to the energy cost, assume wind powered
electricity costs $0.06/kWh unsubsidized (without PTC). Electrolysis
circa 1990 was 65% efficient. See the document I mentioned yesterday
for details:
http://lenr-canr.org/acrobat/NRELenergyover.pdf
Okay, 1 gallon gasoline has 132 MJ = 36.67 kWh.
Divide by 65% to get 56.42 kWh input energy
56.42 kWh * $0.06 = $3.39
As Beene pointed out hydrogen is probably somewhat more efficient
than gasoline in an ICE. (It would be 3 times more efficient used in
a fuel-cell, but that is not of near-term development.) So if
gasoline goes over three dollars a gallon, it seems to me that
hydrogen generated with electrolysis should be competitive.
I cannot imagine where GE came up with the cost of $8/kg for hydrogen.
- Jed
--
"Monsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write" Voltaire
