New type of hydrogen fuel cell powers up

[thegathering]

Originally Posted by NewScientistTech.com

Within a few years, laptops and other energy-guzzling portable devices could run on long-lasting, easily recharged fuel cells based on a safe and practical new way of storing and releasing hydrogen.

Chemist Don Gervasio and colleague Sonja Tasic, both at Arizona State University in the US, set out to develop a fuel cell that would generate more electricity for its weight than the best batteries, and would also work at room temperature.

Gervasio's solution was to use the alkaline compound borohydride. A 30% solution of borohydride in water actually contains one-third more hydrogen than the same volume of liquid hydrogen.

"The difference is that the borohydride is at room temperature, and it's stable, non-toxic and cost-effective," Gervasio says.
Quick recharge

The borohydride solution releases its hydrogen as it flows over a catalyst made of ruthenium. The hydrogen passes through a membrane and combines with oxygen in the fuel cell, generating electricity and waste water.

Theoretically, this could achieve an energy density up to about 2200 watt-hours per litre Gervasio says, compared to 200 watt-hours per litre for a lithium polymer battery.

"For the same size and weight you can make a lot more electricity, so your laptop or camcorder will run a lot longer," he says.
Clogged up

However, Gervasio's early systems ran into trouble when the hydrogen-generating cells became clogged with insoluble boron oxide. His team looked for something that would dissolve boron oxide, and found it in a widely-used material: ethylene glycol, otherwise known as antifreeze. The ethylene glycol also had no effect on hydrogen generation.

The researchers can now run the hydrogen generator on a 15% solution of borohydride, half-way to their goal of a truly power-packed 30% solution. "By using this additive, we've raised the hydrogen storage to about 600 usable watt-hours per litre, which is two to three times as good as any battery," Gervasio says. "We're half-way there."

Gervasio recognises that there are still many steps between his prototype and a competitively priced, off-the-shelf, battery-sized fuel cell. Nevertheless, he believes they could appear in power-hungry devices such as laptops, camcorders, and radios within five years.

Gervasio revealed details of the prototype system at the 232nd American Chemical Society National Meeting, in San Francisco, US, on Tuesday

possibly future robot batteries?

[Adam Richards]

Originally Posted by thegathering

possibly future robot batteries?

Could you please refrain from constantly posting these news articles? I understand that one or two every so often are understandable, but it seems the bulk of your posts seem to be these repetetive threads on random news that, frankly, I don't care about. I am not standing alone on this, as I have already talked to several people about it, and they have similar feelings.

[Wetzel]

Dave says it better than I can. You are posting copyrighted text here and shouldn't.

Wetzel

[thegathering]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

Dave says it better than I can. You are posting copyrighted text here and shouldn't.

Wetzel

Actually, under the fair use policy listed in article 107 on the U.S. Copyright Office's Copyright Law document, this is considered a news source and is openly available for quotation given citation (which the source is linked to in the quotation).

Originally Posted by Subject 107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

[thegathering]

Could you please refrain from constantly posting these news articles? I understand that one or two every so often are understandable, but it seems the bulk of your posts seem to be these repetetive threads on random news that, frankly, I don't care about. I am not standing alone on this, as I have already talked to several people about it, and they have similar feelings.

I apologize if I have annoyed anyone with the articles. Some of the articles have had successful discussions and debates that followed them such as the Microsoft School article, the energy article, and the RIAA debate. I had originally hoped that posting articles that related to science and technology, I would spark an interest in discussing in the sciences in general outside of robotics.

It seems as if you believe that I have failed in this regard. I feel as if I have misjudged the nature of the participants on this forum. Again, I am sorry.

[Andrew Blair]

Hey, now, lets actually make this one into a usable discussion as well then! Honestly, the articles are interesting, but just make sure all the t's are dotted and i's are crossed...

Anyways, far past robot batteries, this is interesting regarding power storage. My question is, they make a big deal about energy density and power small devices like camcorders, but is it really that dense if you consider needing another separate component in each battery to convert the H2 into electricity? With a typical battery, most of it's weight is directly related to storing energy. Hook some wires up to the storage cells, and you're got power. The jump to a chemical reaction producing H2 which then may be used to create the juice seems like a complex step, but still possibly viable.

Regardless, our boys over in Ireland will have that free power thing going long before these become viable, so I guess these'll be kinda obsolete before birth, huh? I already bought stock in Steorn.

[thegathering]

Anyways, far past robot batteries, this is interesting regarding power storage. My question is, they make a big deal about energy density and power small devices like camcorders, but is it really that dense if you consider needing another separate component in each battery to convert the H2 into electricity? With a typical battery, most of it's weight is directly related to storing energy. Hook some wires up to the storage cells, and you're got power. The jump to a chemical reaction producing H2 which then may be used to create the juice seems like a complex step, but still possibly viable.

Well, IDK if closed electronics would be a good idea being that the H2 storage gives off h20 (not good for electronics), but what if it could be used as a portable generator or in larger applications where an exaust pipe could be used to direct the products away from the H2 motor? RC cars can burn gasoline, so the same scale could be used for the battery, using a small h2 engine (RC sized) as a generator.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by thegathering

Actually, under the fair use policy listed in article 107 on the U.S. Copyright Office's Copyright Law document, this is considered a news source and is openly available for quotation given citation (which the source is linked to in the quotation).

The law considers "(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole." Reposting the entire article is infringement.

[thegathering]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

The law considers "(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole." Reposting the entire article is infringement.

It never says that. It just says that the article amount will be a factor to consider, just like the nature of the article. Nowhere does it specify that using the entire article is infringement.

Being that CD is non proffit, quoting most of the article with a link would be no different than linking to it directly.