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Cheaper, Cleaner Hydrogen Without Platinum

keithww writes "Looks like the hydrogen economy may have gotten a whole lot cheaper. Wisconsin team engineers gas from biomass using common metals of tin, nickel, and aluminum instead of platinum. This looks like a good way to get rid of biowaste also." Of course, there's still a long way to go before the automotive industry is using it, but it is good news nonetheless.

16 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Cheaper hydrogen still! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Two words: The Sun

    1. Re:Cheaper hydrogen still! by otis+wildflower · · Score: 2, Funny

      shipping costs are a bitch though.

  2. The Hindenburg, Mark II by Faust7 · · Score: 1, Funny

    cheap, renewable hydrogen

    Paving the way for cheap, renewable forms of transportation. *Foom!*

  3. Yeah, I gas from biomass too by millisa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wisconsin team engineers gas from biomass

    Apparently I wasn't the only one to eat Taco Bell last night...

    1. Re:Yeah, I gas from biomass too by rootofevil · · Score: 5, Funny

      taco bell food has nothing biological in it, sorry.

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      turn up the jukebox and tell me a lie
  4. obligatory back to the future post by r0b0t+b0y · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course, there's still a long way to go before the automotive industry is using it, but it is good news nonetheless.

    anyone else get the image of doc brown tossing in some banana peels and beer into "mr. fusion"??

    .. maybe call this "mr. hydrogen" instead?

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    i do not use drugs, i AM drugs -- Dali
  5. Re:Ozone? by nharmon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Water. Water is the root of all evil. If it weren't for the fight over water, we would have world peace. Perhaps if burning hydrogen produced beer, the world would be a better place.

  6. A better question: by RasputinAXP · · Score: 4, Funny

    could it produce 1.21 gigawatts? Great Scott!

  7. Re:Hydrogen from biowaste is stupid. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    ... mind alterating effects... halluzinations ... heroine... whole stuff is even cheaper

    and you seem to be an authority on this.

  8. Down with solar power! by cybercuzco · · Score: 4, Funny

    From http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/solar.htm
    Funny!

    Many groups and individuals are proposing that our government spend tax money on research and development of systems to utilize solar energy. They urge construction of vast solar energy collectors to convert sunlight to electricity to supply our energy needs. They would even put solar collectors on roofs of homes, factories, schools, and other buildings. Proponents of this technology claim that energy obtained from the sun will be safer and cleaner than coal, oil, or nuclear energy sources.

    We view these proposals with alarm. Unscrupulous scientists and greedy promoters are hoodwinking a gullible public. We consider it rash and dangerous to commit our country to the use of solar energy. This solar technology has never been utilized on such a large scale, and we have no assurance of its long-range safety. Not one single study has been done to assess the safety of electricity from solar energy as compared to electricity from other sources.

    The promoters of solar energy cleverly lead you to believe that it is perfectly safe. Yet they conveniently neglect to mention that solar energy is generated by nuclear fusion within the sun. This process operates on the very same basic laws of nuclear physics used in nuclear power plants and atomic bombs!

    And what is the source of this energy? It is hydrogen, a highly explosive gas (remember the Hindenberg?) Hydrogen is also the active material in H-bombs, that are not only tremendously destructive, but produce dangerous fallout. The glib advocates of solar energy don't even mention these disturbing facts about the true sources of solar energy. What else are they trying to hide from us?

    In addition to the known dangers cited above, what about the unknown dangers, that very well might be worse? When pressed, scientists will admit that they do not fully understand the workings of the sun, or even of the atom. They will even grudgingly admit that our knowledge of the basic laws of physics is not yet perfect or complete. Yet these same reckless scientists would have us use this solar technology even before we fully understand how it works.

    Admittedly we are already subject to a natural `background' radiation from the sun. We can do little about that, except to stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible. The evidence is already clear that too much exposure to sunlight can cause skin cancer. But solar collectors would concentrate that sunlight (that otherwise would have fallen harmlessly on waste land), convert it to electricity and pipe it into our homes to irradiate us from every light bulb! We would then not even be safe from this cancer-producing energy even in our own homes!

    We all know that looking at the sun for even a few seconds can cause blindness. What long term health hazards might result from reading by light derived from solar energy? We now spend large amounts of time looking at the light from television monitors or computer screens, and one can only imagine the possible long-term consequences of this exposure when the screens are powered with electricity from solar collectors. Will we develop cataracts, or slowly go blind? Not one medical study has yet addressed itself to this question, and none are planned.

    In their blind zeal to plug us in to solar energy, scientists seem to totally ignore possible fire hazards of solar energy. Sunlight reaching us directly from the sun at naturally safe levels poses little fire threat. But all one has to do is concentrate sunlight, with a simple burning- glass, and it readily ignites combustible materials. Who would feel safe with solar energy concentrators on their roof? Could we afford the fire insurance rates?

    These scientists, and the big corporations that employ them, stand to profit greatly from construction of solar-power stations. No wonder they try to hide the dangers of the technology and suppress any open discussion of them.

    Proponents of solar energy present facts, figures and graphs to su

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  9. This is the first time on Slashdot by Omkar · · Score: 2, Funny

    That I've heard this argument without reference to the RIAA/MPAA.

  10. Yeah, but going to get more fuel would suck by Ride-My-Rocket · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can just see it now: pulling up to the fuel station, asking the station attendant to fill 'er up, and watching as he pulls down his pants, defecates in my tank, then fills it up with banana peels, rusty cans and empty Chinese cans, Back-to-the-Future-style.

  11. Re:cycle by sal · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'll keep that in mind next time I have to travel from New York to Boston in the middle of winter. More people like bikes than live in Southern California.

  12. DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE! by Jo+Owen · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Should I be concerned about Dihydrogen Monoxide?

    Yes, you should be concerned about DHMO! Although the U.S. Government and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) do not classify Dihydrogen Monoxide as a toxic or carcinogenic substance (as it does with better known chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and saccharine), DHMO is a constituent of many known toxic substances, diseases and disease-causing agents, environmental hazards and can even be lethal to humans in quantities as small as a thimbleful.

    Research conducted by award-winning U.S. scientist Nathan Zohner concluded that roughly 86 percent of the population supports a ban on dihydrogen monoxide. Although his results are preliminary, Zohner believes people need to pay closer attention to the information presented to them regarding Dihydrogen Monoxide. He adds that if more people knew the truth about DHMO then studies like the one he conducted would not be necessary.

    A similar study conducted by U.S. researchers Patrick K. McCluskey and Matthew Kulick also found that nearly 90 percent of the citizens participating in their study were willing to sign a petition to support an outright ban on the use of Dihydrogen Monoxide in the United States."

    If you want to know more about the problems of dihydrogen monoxide, vist http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

  13. Mr. Fusion! by deander2 · · Score: 3, Funny


    converts bio-mass to fuel for futuristic cars? i KNOW i've see that somewhere before!!! :-P

  14. Behold... by Gerald · · Score: 4, Funny
    Wisconsin team engineers gas from biomass ...

    Behold the power of cheese!