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Ethanol to Hydrogen Reactor Developed

Posted by michael on from the second-law-of-thermodynamics-still-problematic dept.

guacamolefoo writes "CNN reports that researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a small (2 ft. high) hydrogen reactor that turns ethanol into hydrogen and then uses a fuel cell to turn the hydrogen into electricity. It notably does not use fossil fuels in the process. I knew that liquor would save us all some day."

3 of 839 comments (clear)

  1. How to make the Ethanol by JungleBoy · · Score: 2, Redundant

    I wonder how much Fossil Fuel is needed to produce the Ethanol? I seriously doubt this is a truly Fossil Fuel Free[tm] method of making Hydrogen fuel.

    --
    "You never know when some crazed rodent with cold feet might be running loose in your pants."
    -Calvin
  2. Corn ain't free! by leoxx · · Score: 3, Redundant

    Unfortunately it still takes fossil fuels to grow corn. I didn't see any mention of this in the article, but it would be insteresting to find out if the total amount of fossil fuels (from things like farm equipment, fertilizers, etc) that goes into growing the corn to create the ethanol to create the hydrogen is the same, lower, or even more than that required to turn fossil fuels into hydrogen directly. If its the same as or higher than the direct route, then this "breakthrough" isn't all that great.

  3. Re:Average Slashdot user by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Do you run a hairdryer all day long?

    Of course not, but I do run a couple of servers all day long and each of them has a 350 watt power supply. Plus I work from home using a workstation with a 450watt power supply.

    1Kw is not enough for most /. users.