CBS 60 Minutes - The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough?

[viscousmemories]

Bloom 'Box' Energy Server hands-on (literally) with video! -- Engadget

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by Lagnath

My concern lies with the fact that you need gas in order to power this type of fuel cell. In this case the most likely source of that gas for Americans and most other countries is natural gas. Currently natural gas is the source for roughly 25% of America's energy. We're still left with the basic problem of using a fixed resource to power our homes.

I agree here. Not only that but trading in 'less' carbon so we take a little longer to sink all our coasts under sea water while distroying what is left of our drinking water? The greeds are doing enough damage now to take what little money is left in our pockets at the expense of the environment. Can't imagine what they could get away with if they can get a full scale 'save the planet' bullshit thing going while they are already fucking the planet over under the table as it is.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/02/24

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by Lagnath

Your correct. The only immediate positive feature is that you can defer creating the power until needed and save on infrastructure costs and the losses associated with moving power from the source to your home. You can also capture waste heat to use for heating and, with some electricity as well, cooling. That isn't the source of the my concern.

My concern lies with the fact that you need gas in order to power this type of fuel cell. In this case the most likely source of that gas for Americans and most other countries is natural gas. Currently natural gas is the source for roughly 25% of America's energy. We're still left with the basic problem of using a fixed resource to power our homes.

We need a very in depth analysis in order to gauge whether there will be any actual cost savings from moving around where we spend or energy dollars. There may come a time when the costs are low enough that this technology will be perfectly practical. Until I see good numbers I'm skeptical that this technology is either cost efficient or scalable.

The good part is there is already infrastructure in place to move the fuel around. Hydrogen powered fuel cells would require an all new and very expensive infrastructure, higher pressures and much more leak-proof. This is a good interim solution, one which might take only a short time to be effective, standing in while we work on developing a more permanent renewable solution.

[Jug Pilot]

Scientists find way to make cheap gas from coal - Environment - Canoe.ca

Researchers in Texas say they have found a way of cutting the cost of producing gasoline by two thirds, taking advantage of the lowest grade of coal available - one that is abundant beneath the Canadian prairies.

A new refining process being perfected at the University of Texas at Arlington can turn the low-cost lignite coal, also known as brown coal, into oil at a fraction of the cost of importing crude oil from abroad.

“We're improving the cost every day,” Rick Billo, the school's dean of engineering, told a local television station.

“We started off some time ago at an uneconomical $17,000 a barrel. Today, we're at a cost of $28.84 a barrel.”

[Watser?]

I just read about this the other day, combined with that bloom box thing it could be good:

Sunlight + water = hydrogen gas, in a new technique that can convert 60 per cent of sunlight energy absorbed by an electrode into the inflammable fuel.

To generate the gas Thomas Nann and colleagues at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, dip a gold electrode with a special coating into water and expose it to light. clusters of indium phosphide 5 nanometres wide on its surface absorb incoming photons and pass electrons bearing their energy on to clusters of a sulphurous iron compound.

This material combines those electrons with protons from the water to form gaseous hydrogen. A second electrode – plain platinum this time – is needed to complete the circuit electrochemically.

Sun-powered water splitter makes hydrogen tirelessly - tech - 11 February 2010 - New Scientist

[ceptimus]

Gold, platinum and indium? I suppose these scientists just used materials that came readily to hand (they happened to be in the local jewellery store at the time).

[Watser?]

Eh, yeah that could be the tricky part.

[Lagnath]

Making gasoline from coal is something that will happen on a large scale eventually. It's just a matter of when the price of oil will rise high enough to cover all the capital costs associated with taking the technology to large scales.

The problem is once again one of net energy return. Our net EROEI has been dropping over the last 30 years, and the energy costs of getting coal out of the ground to turn into oil is non-trivial. I'm actually not aware of any information available on net energy return calculations for coal to oil, I'll have to look into that.

[Dingfod]

I've got an idea? Why don't we burn that coal and generate some steam, which we could then use to rotate a generator shaft, making our own electricity?

[Angakuk]

Steampunk ITT!