Hydrogen-On-Demand

[Tr0n]

http://www.millenniumcell.com/about/index.html

Hydrogen on Demand™
Millennium Cell's proprietary Hydrogen on Demand™ systems safely generate high-quality hydrogen from sodium borohydride, a synthetic chemical compound. The primary raw material used to produce sodium borohydride is borax, a material that is found in substantial natural reserves globally, including significant deposits in the U.S. The Hydrogen On Demand™ process supplies high-quality hydrogen for energy applications without the need (and associated energy penalties) for compression, reformation or liquefaction. Hydrogen produced by this system can be used for a variety of applications, addressing a wide range of power requirements.

The Hydrogen on Demand™ system releases the hydrogen stored in sodium borohydride solutions by passing the liquid through a chamber containing a proprietary catalyst. The reaction is totally inorganic (carbon and sulfur free), producing a high-quality energy source without polluting emissions.

It is safe and easily controllable - hydrogen is only produced when the liquid fuel is in direct contact with the catalyst, thereby minimizing the amount of gaseous hydrogen present in the system at any given time. The fuel solution itself is non-flammable, non-explosive, and easy to transport.

For years, scientists have known that boron hydrides store a significant amount of energy. However, direct combustion of boron hydrides presented a difficult engineering problem, so work on these compounds as a fuel source was largely abandoned in the 1960's. Recently, Millennium Cell has invented, patented, and developed a proprietary process that takes advantage of the inherent energy density of boron-hydrogen compounds, but that allows this energy to be accessed in a straightforward way. This process, called Hydrogen on Demand™, safely generates high-purity hydrogen from environmentally friendly raw materials. The produced hydrogen can then be consumed in a fuel cell or hydrogen-burning engine to produce useful power.

The "hydrogen" is stored at ambient conditions in a non-flammable liquid "fuel" - an aqueous solution of sodium borohydride, NaBH4. Sodium borohydride is made from borax, a material that is found in substantial natural reserves globally. The process supplies pure hydrogen for energy applications without the need (and associated energy penalties) for compression or liquefaction. Hydrogen produced by this system can be used for numerous applications, addressing a wide range of power requirements.

The Hydrogen on Demand™ system releases the hydrogen stored in sodium borohydride solutions by passing the liquid through a chamber containing a proprietary catalyst. The hydrogen is liberated in the reaction:

NaBH4 + 2 H2O —› NaBO2 + 4 H2 + Heat
cat——

The only other reaction product, sodium metaborate (analogous to borax), is water-soluble and environmentally benign. The sodium metaborate can either be disposed of or recycled as the starting material for the generation of new sodium borohydride.

The reaction occurs rapidly in the presence of catalyst; there is no need to supply external heat to access the hydrogen. The heat generated is sufficient to vaporize a fraction of the water present, and as a result the hydrogen is supplied with co-generated moisture. The moisture in the H2 stream is an added benefit both for fuel cells (humidifying the proton exchange membrane) and for internal combustion engines (reducing autoignition, slowing the combustion flame speed).

The reaction is completely carbon and sulfur free, producing a high quality energy source without polluting emissions. It is safe and easily controllable - hydrogen is only produced when the liquid fuel is in direct contact with the catalyst, thereby minimizing the amount of gaseous hydrogen on-board at any given time. The fuel solution itself is non-flammable, non-explosive, and easy to transport.

Video (Link...you need real player)

No need for compression, reformation, and liquefaction anymore like that of current systems.

 

[Dan]

No need for compression, reformation, and liquefaction anymore like that of current systems.

I didn't know we had a current hydrogen distribution system

 

[Tr0n]

I didn't know we had a current hydrogen distribution system

You're not very smart are you?

It's talking about how to get hydrogen without the need for compression, reformation, and liquefaction systems.Thats how you hold and keep hydrogen at a liquified state so you can use it...by compressing the hydrogen gas and holding it in a huge tank so it can keep it cold and liquified.

Now with this you don't need all that.

 

[Top Secret]

You're not very smart are you?

I've all ways come across you as a nice guy Tr0n, but that was pretty low. :|

 

[Tr0n]

I've all ways come across you as a nice guy Tr0n, but that was pretty low. :|

Haven't I said many times that I'm an ass?

Also I was joking, but whatever...Sorry dan for that remark.

 

[Direwolf]

I read about this probably a year or so ago now. Sounded promising, but they need to really develope the tech for commercial use. (Power vs. weight ratios and reliability mostly)

 

[Ikerous]

You realize only about 1 in 10 of us have the attention span to read a post that long..
But even with an easier way of getting hydrogen
I doubt it'll have any real effect on energy production..
:: Doesnt know if thats applicable or not considering i only read the title::

 

[Ames]

The proprietary catalyst part irks me. It doesn't mention anything about it except that it speeds up the reaction, which is normal for a catalyst...

/me shrugs

 

[Tr0n]

You realize only about 1 in 10 of us have the attention span to read a post that long..

Yea I actually did consider that...I was gonna try and sum it up for ya'll, but I was lazy.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

the solution to peak oil

 

[Top Secret]

Sorry dan for that remark.

You are a nice guy. :afro:

 

[GhostBoi]

the solution to peak oil

Yeah, maybe, except for that site has been up there for a year and I haven't seen it get any closer to commercial use so bleh.

 

[FoB_Ed]

Yeah but they still need the platininum for the fuel cells don't they? So it's not a solution because we'd exhaust the platinum reserves within 1 year.

A single hydrogen fuel cell requires 20 grams of platinum. If the cells are mass-produced, it may be possible to get the platinum requirement down to 10 grams per cell. The world has 7.7 billion grams of proven platinum reserves. There are approximately 700 million internal combustion engines on the road. Ten grams of platinum per fuel cell x 700 million fuel cells = 7 billion
grams of platinum, or practically every gram of platinum in the earth.

Unfortunately, as a recent article in EV World points out, the average fuel cell lasts only 200 hours. Two hundred hours translates into just 12,000 miles, or about one year’s worth of driving at 60 miles per hour. This means all 700 million fuel cells (with 10 grams of platinum in each one) would have to be replaced every single year.

Thus replacing the 700 million oil-powered vehicles on the road with fuel cell-powered vehicles, for only 1 year, would require us to mine every single ounce of platinum currently in the earth and divert all of it for fuel cell construction only.

Doing so is absolutely impossible as platinum is astonishingly energy intensive (expensive) to mine, is already in short supply, and is indispensable to thousands of crucial industrial processes.

Even if this wasn't the case, the fuel cell solution would last less than one year. As with oil, platinum production would peak long before the supply is exhausted.

Plus, what about the hundreds of millions of vehicles that still run on fossil fuels? They'd all have to be converted.

 

[Tr0n]

Hmmmm...I don't know if it uses platinum.


Gonna have to look further into it.

"The Hydrogen on Demand™ system releases the hydrogen stored in sodium borohydride solutions by passing the liquid through a chamber containing a proprietary catalyst. The reaction is totally inorganic (carbon and sulfur free), producing a high-quality energy source without polluting emissions."

Thats basically it...I don't think it uses platinum.

I might be wrong tho.

 

[Dan]

there are some fuel cells that don't use platinum. They just don't work as well or as efficiently or something I think

 

[Killing2Live]

I want hydrogen cars really bad, everything about them sounds better than gas cars.

 

[Mr Stabby]

With metals copper is pretty much unreactive, but would still react with h+ ions, then there is just silver and gold. High density plastics might work though

 

[SimonomiS]

Hmmmm...I don't know if it uses platinum.


Gonna have to look further into it.

"The Hydrogen on Demand™ system releases the hydrogen stored in sodium borohydride solutions by passing the liquid through a chamber containing a proprietary catalyst. The reaction is totally inorganic (carbon and sulfur free), producing a high-quality energy source without polluting emissions."

Thats basically it...I don't think it uses platinum.

I might be wrong tho.

Won't that most likely be platinum?

 

[Tr0n]

Won't that most likely be platinum?

Well I can't seem to find out if it is or not...so who knows?

/me shrugs

 

[ríomhaire]

So they've made hydrogen power practical?
Brilliant