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Coleman To Sell Portable Fuel Cell Generator
HobbySpacer writes "
Popular Science reports that
Coleman Powermate
will soon start selling a small portable fuel cell power supply.
The AirGen Fuel Cell Generator provides 1.2kW for up to 10 hours
on a bottle of pure hydrogen. Interestingly, the company had to
set up its own distribution system to insure it could deliver a
refill anyplace in the US within 2 days. The unit, built by
Ballard, goes for a pricey $8k but perhaps worth it if an indoor emergency backup is needed. Fuel cells can also be found for sale at the
Fuel Cell Store and Greenvolt.
Perhaps the hydrogen economy is closer than most people thought."
Picture of the device can be seen on the Popular Science's website here.
Not nearly as explosive as the bigass tank of gasoline you drive around every day.
The Hindenburg's problems were caused not by the H2, but by the chemical in the paint on the fabric.
--
grep "xercist"
The Hindenburg blew up not because of the hydrogen, but because of the paint used. It was a mixture that very closely resembled aircraft fuel and was highly explosive. The hydrogen would not have exploded anyways. If ignite hydrogen it goes up almost like a puff and then its gone. Very limited reaction. More on this here http://www.ttcorp.com/nha/advocate/ad22zepp.htm. Yeah the site is done by the National Hydrogen Association, but this a very well excepted explination of what happened.
m l
Here is another link from PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/html/e3-menu.ht
The main problem with hydrogen is that it takes a lot more energy to produce and store than it generates. Electrolysis is especially inefficient and you end up polluting anyway (power plant) so it's not clean energy. The story also left out an important detail:
. . . the company is confident a $100 refill could be delivered anywhere in the United States within two days.
And I thought laptop batteries were expensive. At $8,000 + $100 for each 10 hours to power just a few pieces of equipment we'll all be riding Segways long before this is practical for every day use.
Great idea. This could power a house, and as the distribution system for hydro gets more developed, the price will drop, as will the cost of use.
One of the reasons the damned things are so expensive (but cheaper per kw that solar iirc) is the catalyst used is usually platinum, which is horribly expensive and rare. People aren't certain if they can get the amount of platinum to do mass production of larger units. Luckily, other alloys can do the job, but with some lost efficiency.
Fuel cells are highly efficient, and farily cost efficient (not like, say, *coal* is). It' s main problems is the hydrogen. But this is more of a factor that limits their use in vehicles then for home use.
...Time is the best teacher, unfortunately it kills all of its students.
Actualy I can give a shot at answering this one. You are correct in assuming hydrogen is difficult to store. The lighter a gas is, the faster it can seep through a fault in a container or a gas permiable material. A container that can contain CO2 for years, may lose all it's hydrogen in a very short time. Heilum is much heavier than hydrogen and much safer (I know it's not a fuel. It's used for leak detection because it's inhert) even though heavier than Hydrogen. Heilum is used for rapid "leak detection" in high vac systems because it can quickly find it's way in the smallest and slowest of leaks. Presence of the gas is sensed at the vac pump and almost gives a leak indication in real time when some heilum is blowen onto a faulty joint or seal. Many materials pass hydrogen readly like many plastic bottles pass water and many household chemicals. You can tell these older bottles on the shelf in the store as they start to collapse due to the product passing out through the plastic container. Seals and gaskets for hydrogen use are special. This is why soda pop and bottled water is put in Poly Ethylene Terephthalate PET plastic containers instead of regular Poly Ethelene PE, High Density Poly Ethylene HDPE, or Poly Propolene PPE plastic containers. The other plastics will not hold the CO2 very long. The PET container is designed to not pass CO2 so your favorite soft drink does not go flat on the shelf. This is why your heilum balloons will go flat much sooner than the same ones filled with air or CO2. Mylar is even better.
The truth shall set you free!
More information can be found at http://www.dhmo.org/
Coleman has the dest demonstration of fuel cell technology I've seen yet. This short MPEG gives a basic but very thorough overview of fuel cell theory. Highly recommended considering all the fuel cell posts lately.
The $100 within 2 days anywhere in US is a premium service. There is nothing to stop you buying an electrolysis kit, some solar panels, and generating your own. Or find a local supplier that will provide cheap bottles of hydrogen. After all, any local business can buy a hydrogen generator. Alternatively you can buy an all-in-one solution the regenerative fuel cell.
Interesting items from the DOE hydrogen faq:
How much energy is required to produce hydrogen via electrolysis of water?
"The energy required to produce hydrogen via electrolysis (assuming 1.23 V) is about 32.9 kW-hr/kg. [...] For commercial electrolysis systems that operate at about 1 A/cm2, a voltage of 1.75 V is required. This translates into about 46.8 kW-hr/kg, which corresponds to an energy efficiency of 70%.
"Most of the hydrogen produced today is consumed on site, such as at an oil refinery, and is not sold on the market. From large-scale production, hydrogen costs $0.32/lb if it is consumed on site. When hydrogen is sold on the market, the cost of liquefying the hydrogen and transporting it to the user must be added to the production cost. This can increase the selling price to $1.00-1.40/lb for delivered liquid hydrogen. Some users who require relatively small amounts of very pure hydrogen (such as the electronics industry) may use electrolyzers to produce high-purity hydrogen at their facilities. The cost of this hydrogen, which depends on the cost of the electricity used to split the water, is typically $1.00-$2.00/lb."
My fuel cell Segway will leave your old battery model at the lights.
Phillip.
http://www.FutureEnergies.com/
Property for sale in Nice, France
I have been looking into this for some time. The previous poster is wrong. solar cells will work in Main and
Washington. Even with clouds you still get plenty of sun, If anything the clouds filter the unused portions of the light.
The problem with solar cells and wind mills is that the average cost per KWH is well over 1.00$ (Compared to the $.40
I pay the electric company. I fear that fuel cells will be along the same lines. Quoting from the fuel cell stores FAQ
"If I install a residential fuel cell, what kind of reduction in my utility bill can I anticipate?
Many factors enter into what your actual savings will be. These factors include; individual electricity consumption,
geographic location, the particular utility, if utilizing a reformer the price of natural gas or propane, the avoided costs
of installing lines to your residence when located in an off-grid area, etc. "
There is no clear answer as to whether you will save money by going to fuel cells. I fear that the cost will be the
deciding factor as to how quickly fuel cells are adopted. If they can produce a renewable, low cost energy source (The
optimum words being LOW COST) they will be adopted quickly. If they think everyone will buy one just because it
will benefit the environment, they are in for a shock!
I am still looking for a LOW COST alternate electrical source for my home computer room. Currently it is using
around 2000KWH per month.