tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post8413026755760450553..comments2024-03-29T07:43:40.648+00:00Comments on ToughSF: Saving the planet with alcohol: An Ethanol Energy EconomyMatter Beamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721504049578296529noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-46348772628335908712018-03-23T15:55:48.501+00:002018-03-23T15:55:48.501+00:00One of the major points of this blog post was that...One of the major points of this blog post was that to encourage the transition to a more environmentally friendly energy economy, it had to be as seamless as possible. This means keeping as much existing infrastructure and systems in place, with minor modifications - hence the carbon-neutral fuels solution.<br /><br />Fuel cells are not commonly used, and are generally an expensive requirement to impose on families and companies everywhere to replace their cars, generators, gas burners and heaters. Matter Beamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721504049578296529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-32385218882604799702018-03-22T21:09:13.942+00:002018-03-22T21:09:13.942+00:00My understanding is that it's very difficult t...My understanding is that it's very difficult to get a fuel cell to run on fuels that contain carbon-carbon bonds. So a methanol or dimethyl ether fuel cell is much easier to make than an ethanol fuel cell.<br /><br />If I am out of date on that please provide a link that tells us about the progress on ethanol fuel cells.Jim Baerghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03182949391365921637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-79954410888807679692018-02-01T01:46:31.537+00:002018-02-01T01:46:31.537+00:00I know, this is a often neglected possibility. :)
...I know, this is a often neglected possibility. :)<br />I got that idea from a sensor used in alcohol breathalyzers.<br /><br />In my opinion, fuel cells are the optimal solution to convert liquid and gaseous fuels into electricity if you can make them efficient enough. Especially in small solutions in cars and emergency power systems in houses and buildings for instance.<br /><br />I also like the idea of converting hydrogen, produced from several different methods, to ethanol due to its intrinsic advantages. My favorite sources are of course nuclear. I like specially the idea of producing hydrogen using high temperature nuclear reactors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-18903291298463562552018-02-01T00:36:12.103+00:002018-02-01T00:36:12.103+00:00I am currently doing research to determine the ful...I am currently doing research to determine the full breakdown of the energy cost of all of the steps required to convert sunlight into ethanol. A suggestion I keep getting is to go the extra step and convert ethanol into gasoline, so that current engines can use it with zero modifications. <br /><br />The ethanol fuel cell however, is a great idea! I had completely forgotten about that possibility!Matter Beamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721504049578296529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-54491303933665208492018-01-31T20:50:58.081+00:002018-01-31T20:50:58.081+00:00Great post, this summarize perfectly, most of my a...Great post, this summarize perfectly, most of my arguments for why an ethanol economy would be better than a hydrogen economy. Specially with the development of ethanol fuel cells.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-50177934292587777562017-10-26T07:03:17.516+01:002017-10-26T07:03:17.516+01:00Keeping up with the times has its many advantages....Keeping up with the times has its many advantages. Consider <a href="https://twitter.com/OrenAhronson" rel="nofollow">Oren Ahronson</a> CFL bulbs that most people have been using recently. Compared to the traditional incandescent bulbs that everybody grew up with, CFL bulbs consume 75% less energy. An ordinary bulb creates 90% of heat rather than light! Fluorescent tube lights too are preferable to the ordinary bulb, consuming 70% less electricity.<br />Oren Ahronsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15202244979212212227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-11569450629455782992016-11-12T09:58:44.614+00:002016-11-12T09:58:44.614+00:00DME could be a second-generation fuel. Diesel engi...DME could be a second-generation fuel. Diesel engines are more efficient, and cleaner burning would mean less pollutants that we cannot compensate for through carbon capture.<br /><br />However, I must stress again how important it will be to provide an option that requires very little modification to existing cars for the transition between fossil and carbon-capture fuels.<br /><br />DME would require installing a pressure tank and abiding to more stringent safety regulations. It might end up representing as much as LPG, which is 3% of all cars. <br /><br />I think providing an alternative, such as 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline (E85), where ethanol is produced by carbon-capture plants, is much more important than a possibly more efficient alternative. The alternative would require customers to buy a new car!Matter Beamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721504049578296529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-5144417488174954192016-11-11T21:04:08.222+00:002016-11-11T21:04:08.222+00:00Yes DME is a gas at STP, but like propane it becom...Yes DME is a gas at STP, but like propane it becomes a liquid at several atmospheres pressure, in fact at a bit less pressure than propane.<br /><br />So DME can be stored in the same sort of tank as propane, and used to run vehicles in much the same way that propane is now. The main difference is that DME is best used in diesel engines, resulting in higher efficiency. DME burns much cleaner than ordinary diesel fuel. <br /><br />Jim BaergAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-29151631744680476462016-11-10T10:50:24.684+00:002016-11-10T10:50:24.684+00:00Science marches on! Thanks for the links.
Dimethy...Science marches on! Thanks for the links.<br /><br />Dimethyl ether is gaseous at standard temperature and pressure. It boils at -24 degrees Celsius, which might not be practical in the short term. That is a crucial step towards convincing large power companies to use ethanol instead of impractical hydrogen, inefficient electrical or nothing at all. Matter Beamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721504049578296529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8150340806781551727.post-43044499933552389942016-11-10T01:56:27.583+00:002016-11-10T01:56:27.583+00:00For something like this it would probably be bette...For something like this it would probably be better to take the CO2 from seawater.<br />https://bravenewclimate.com/2013/01/16/zero-emission-synfuel-from-seawater/<br /><br />In some ways dimethyl ether might be a better synthetic fuel<br />https://www.aboutdme.org/index.asp?sid=48<br />http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/7/254867/-<br /><br />Jim BaergAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com