Rescuing the hydrogen economy with TrueFuel

"TrueFuel™ is the Answer"

The Real Hydrogen Economy

I want you to study a report entitled, “The Future of the Hydrogen Economy: Bright or Bleak?”

This paper shows that there are serious, if not fatal, problems to implementing a hydrogen economy. Our Dr. Durham says that the authors of the paper did a good survey of the cost areas of a pure hydrogen infrastructure. They then embraced methanol without examination.

Problems with Methanol

Our Dr. Jack Durham points out the following problems with methanol:

1. Methanol is acidic and corrodes metal. That includes fuel tanks, fuel lines, fuel injectors and carburetors.

2. Methanol passes easily through the skin and into the blood, where methanol acts as a poison. The intermediate step is blindness and nerve damage, and if sufficient amount is ingested, death occurs. The body's metabolism converts methanol into formaldehyde, which kills ("preserves") the cells.

3. When spilled, methanol is a liquid that pools on the ground. If methanol catches fire, the flame is invisible. If the flame is breathed, the nose, throat, and lung tissues are burned. It is so difficult to fight a methanol fire that the National Fire Protection Association puts out maximum effort to prevent methanol being adopted as a common fuel.

Barriers to the Hydrogen Economy

First, hydrogen is expensive to make. The lowest cost way of making hydrogen is still several times higher than the U.S. Department of Energy target price for hydrogen.

Second, the cost of storing hydrogen makes hydrogen impractical. There are three main ways to store hydrogen, compress it, liquefy it, or store it in hydrides. All of these ways of storing hydrogen are very costly.

Third, the cost of transporting hydrogen is prohibitive. This is true whether hydrogen is trucked, shipped by rail or moved through a pipeline.

Fourth, safety is a problem. Transporting and storing hydrogen creates risks that may not be acceptable to the public.

Fifth, there are still practical problems associated with using hydrogen in either internal combustion engines or fuel cells.

Fifth, although it is often said that hydrogen does not pollute, making hydrogen does pollute.

Production Cost

Right now, hydrogen is made largely in two ways: steam reformation (the cheapest way) and electrolysis.

Steam Reformation

The energy used to make hydrogen by steam reformation limits the efficiency of hydrogen production by reforming to about 90%.

In other words, more energy is used to make hydrogen with electrolysis than the energy in the hydrogen that is being made. There is a net energy loss.

Electrolysis

The energy used to make hydrogen by electrolysis limits the efficiency of hydrogen production by reforming to about 75%. In other words, more energy is used to make hydrogen with electrolysis than the energy in the hydrogen that is being made. There is a net energy loss.

TrueFuel

TrueFuel has a net energy gain.

Storage Cost

Compressing Hydrogen

Compressing hydrogen can cost about 10% of hydrogen's energy value.

Liquefying Hydrogen

Even with large scale plants, liquefying hydrogen can cost about 30% of hydrogen's energy value.

Storing Hydrogen in Hydrides

Exact number on storing hydrogen in metal hydrides are not available, but hydrogen has to compressed. This will cause a significant energy loss.

TrueFuel

TrueFuel can be made on site, on demand so it requires limited storage.

Transportation Cost

Road Transport

If hydrogen is delivered over a distance of about 300 miles (500 km) exceeds 90% of the hydrogen's energy. Even at at distance of about 60 miles (100 km) over 20% of the energy is used in transportation.

Pipelines

If hydrogen is moved 1,000 km in a pipeline, 9% of the energy is used up. If the hydrogen is moved 4,000 km in a pipeline, 30% of the initial hydrogen is used up.

Generating Hydrogen at Filling Stations

The average filling station would use up 60% of the energy in hydrogen to make hydrogen on site. If filling stations were to switch from gasoline to making hydrogen on site, we would need a 300% increase in electric power generating capacity.

TrueFuel

TrueFuel can be made on site, on demand so it requires limited storage.

Safety

Hydrogen has a good safety record. Nonetheless, moving large amounts of hydrogen by truck or by pipeline will inevitably create more accidents. Hydrogen trucks must be heavy to carry the compressed gas. Hydrogen has a low energy density. It will take 20 hydrogen trucks to deliver the same amount of energy that can be delivered by one gasoline truck. Accidents with hydrogen trucks will be 20 times more likely than with gasoline trucks.

TrueFuel

TrueFuel is “tamed hydrogen” and is at least as safe as, if not safer than hydrogen.

Using Hydrogen

Internal Combustion Engines

Hydrogen in internal combustion engines produces NOx air pollution. The hydrogen simply fries the nitrogen in the air.

Turbines

Pure hydrogen in gas turbines burns them up. The ideal mix for gas turbines is the same mixture of gases that is in TrueFuel.

Fuel Cells

Hydrogen used in fuel cells produces no pollution. However, if gasoline is used to make hydrogen on board the vehicle, the by-product is a sludge or tar that is the waste from the gasoline after the hydrogen is removed.

TrueFuel

TrueFuel can be used in existing gasoline and diesel engines with cost effective modifications. TrueFuel is ideal for gas turbines. TrueFuel can be used in solid-oxide fuel cells.

Pollution

Pollution from Steam Reformation

Steam reformation gives off large amounts of greenhouse gases.

Pollution from Electricity For Electrolysis

Much of the electricity used to make hydrogen from electrolysis is from coal or petroleum that gives off pollution. Because there is a net energy loss from electrolysis, some fuel other than hydrogen has to be used. Some have proposed that nuclear power or photovoltaics be used. However, considerable energy is used to make nuclear power plants and photovoltaics.

TrueFuel

TrueFuel offers large reductions in NOx and hydrocarbon emissions.

The Cost of a Hydrogen Infrastructure

Costs for creating a hydrogen infrastructure may run as high as $400 billion.

TrueFuel

TrueFuel can make use of existing engines. TrueFuel production machines can be delivered on site. A pipeline infrastructure is not needed. Costs for switching to TrueFuel will be much lower.

TrueFuel is the Answer

The more you look at it, the more you can see that TrueFuel is the Answer.