October 3, 2016

Hydrogen could become the new fuel for cooking – here’s how

The Conversation, Evangelia Topriska - September 29, 2016 (Creative Commons License)

“Too much dirt,” says Justine about the difficulties of cooking with charcoal for her household of five. She’s a mother and market trader in the town of Sogakope in south-east Ghana, and referring to the soot that is produced because charcoal doesn’t burn completely. The reason she still uses it? “Cheap,” she shrugs.

Justine’s neighbour Janet is also complaining. She cooks with firewood but it produces too much smoke. It is a typical problem in a country where most cooking involves burning fuels like these. Women do most of the cooking and collect the fuel, and they are becoming more and more aware of the dangers of air pollution in the home.

As many as three billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South East Asia still primarily use fuels like these for cooking, and 4m die every year from indoor air pollution. It is the fourth highest cause of death after HIV/AIDS, lack of clean water and tuberculosis. That’s more than malaria, by the way.


Home on the range, Ghanaian style. Evangelia Topriska

To address these dangers and also the increasing costs and carbon emissions from such fuels, since 2010 I have been involved in research to develop and test an alternative: hydrogen gas produced by solar powered electrolysis.

Solar hydrogen

The vision is that countries would supplement or even replace central power plants that burn gas, coal or nuclear fuels by installing solar farms that collect the sun’s energy with arrays of photovoltaic panels. Some of the electricity would be diverted to large electrolysers that would produce hydrogen by passing electric current through water.

You then distribute the hydrogen to households for cooking. This could be by pipeline in a similar way to how countries like the UK receive natural gas at present. Or it could be through storage containers – compressed gas canisters or ideally low-pressure metal hydride tanks. Households would then use modified gas stoves adapted to safely burn the gas.

Hydrogen is a clean and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. It has no carbon emissions and offers important improvements in health and quality of life. It also reduces deforestation for firewood and charcoal. Basically, you are cooking with water.

We looked at how such a system would work in three countries where most cooking is done with fossil fuels: Ghana, Jamaica and Indonesia. Most Ghanaians cook with firewood, coal and animal dung, while a small percentage use LPG. Indoor air pollution is a particularly murderous problem, especially for poorer people. When households get wealthier, they swap charcoal and firewood for LPG.


Charcoal market in Ghana. Evangelia Topriska

In Jamaica, most households cook with LPG but have to endure high costs from importing it into the country. In Indonesia, most cooking is done by firewood, followed by LPG and kerosene. Energy poverty is a major social issue, with the poor forced to use both pollutant energy sources and inefficient traditional cooking devices.

In each country we envisioned a system where a small solar farm distributed electrolytic hydrogen to rural communities of 20 households. We were able to show that you could achieve very significant reductions in CO₂ emissions. Jamaica is now trialling a small-scale system using compressed hydrogen gas cylinders while there have been discussions about doing something similar in African countries.

The main drawback at present is the capital cost, particularly if you use metal hydride storage. It has the advantage of being safer than distributing hydrogen under high pressure, but is prohibitively expensive at present. By my calculations, the cost per household for this system in Ghana is £2,171 a year for everything including distribution, the stove, solar power and electrolysis. Setting up such a system would clearly require substantial state or organisational support. Use compressed hydrogen and it comes down to £404 a year – hence the Jamaican trial.

The good news is that costs should fall in the coming years as demand for hydrogen storage increases – witness the fall in the price of solar panels in the past decade. If the global shift towards a hydrogen economy becomes a reality, metal hydride technology will surely move in the same direction. The cost of electrolytic hydrogen is already projected to keep falling year after year, for example.

It may be between ten and 20 years before cooking systems like these can become a reality on a large scale, but the potential is clear enough: if we can overcome the cost issues, there is a viable way of tackling an age-old killer and making a big difference to the environment. Justine and Janet just need to hang on.

Source: https://theconversation.com/hydrogen-could-become-the-new-fuel-for-cooking-heres-how-66241

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Evangelia Topriska
Assistant Professor in Architectural Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

Heriot Watt provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

Disclosure statement

Evangelia Topriska's study into alternative cooking systems was funded by the European APC and the Caribbean & Pacific Research Programme for Sustainable Development.

The potential to generate solar hydrogen for cooking applications: Case studies of Ghana, Jamaica and Indonesia
Evangelia Topriska http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148116303627



Katika Afrika, Hidrojeni ni namba moja

October 2, 2016

Guardian: Hydrogen cars and electrolysers: the dawn of Australia's hydrogen economy?

Two large-scale hydrogen facilities in the ACT could mark a turning point in the use of clean tech for transport and heating

The Guardian, Sunday 2 October 2016

The hydrogen economy has been a long time coming. The use of hydrogen as a replacement energy source for oil and gas has been talked about since the early 1970s when the term was first coined by an engineer at General Motors in the US.


Tanks marked with O2 for oxygen and H2 for hydrogen, part of the electrolysis installations, at a hybrid power plant in Germany. Photograph: Bernd Settnik/EPA

It still hasn’t really arrived. And doubters remain. They point to the heavy infrastructure needed to support the technology, the huge amount of energy it consumes, and wonder how it can compete with the falling costs of wind and solar energy, and the surging interest in electric vehicles (EVs) .

Ironically, it is those very factors that are making the idea of a hydrogen economy appealing again. Wind and solar provide cheap energy, EVs are perfecting the drive trains [the power delivery system from engine to wheels] that hydrogen cars will use, and there have been significant technology breakthroughs making the hardware needed to make hydrogen much more cost-competitive.

Now it appears that in Australia, the hydrogen economy is going to have its first home in the Australian Capital Territory. Having put in place the architecture and the contracts to ensure that the equivalent of 100% of the electricity needs are sourced from wind and solar by 2020, the Labor government in the ACT is looking at how that clean energy can be used for transport and heating.

The environment and energy minister, Simon Corbell, recently announced that the two companies – Spain’s Union Fenosa and France’s Neoen – that won bids to provide electricity to build large wind farms to supply the ACT will invest $180m to develop hydrogen facilities...snip

...Heron says using electricity at low cost means fuel for hydrogen cars might be around 75c/litre....snip more:

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/oct/03/hydrogen-cars-electrolysers-dawn-australia-hydrogen-economy

~50 kWh = 1 Kg H2, 1 Kg H2 = ~70 Miles of range for one 4,000 lb car + 4 200lb adults. That's value.



Oz: H2 is #1

September 29, 2016

Hydrogen fuel cell four-seater passenger plane takes to the air

New Atlas.com by Paul Ridden 9/29/16

A collaboration of aircraft makers, fuel cell developers and university engineers have come a step closer to zero emission passenger flights with the first flight of a hydrogen fuel cell four-seater electric aircraft. The twin-cabin, (relatively) low-noise HY4 took off at 11:15 am (local) today for a quick zip around Stuttgart Airport.


Four low temperature Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell modules sit behind the 80 kW electric motor and single propeller(Credit: DLR)

The HY4's 21.36 m (70 ft) wing is home to the HY4's central single propeller with a two-seater fuselage on either side, a design that's said to allow for "optimal distribution of the drive components and a higher total loading capacity." Each fuselage is home to a 9 kg (20 lb) hydrogen storage tank that feeds the four low temperature Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell modules sat behind the prop. These cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water and electrical energy.

The developers are keen to point out that should the hydrogen needed for the fuel cells be produced using renewable energy, the aircraft would fly completely emission-free – though there was no mention of where the fuel was sourced for today's test flight.

The cells continuously power the aircraft's electric motor during flight, while 21 kWh lithium polymer battery packs help out during take-off and climb. The HY4 is reckoned capable of a maximum range of 1,500 km (930 mi), though this will depend on speed, altitude and load. It's 80 kW electric motor is said to make a maximum speed of around 200 km/h (124 mph) possible, with a cruising speed given as 145 km/h (90 mph)...snip
Read More: http://newatlas.com/hy4-hydrogen-fuel-cell-passenger-plane-test-flight/45687/

In der Luft ist Wasserstoff Nummer eins

September 29, 2016

Public to get new $83-billion bill for Fukushima, reactor expenses

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN September 21, 2016

The government plans to make the public pay an additional 8.3 trillion yen (about $83 billion) to decommission reactors at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant and provide compensation for evacuees of the 2011 disaster, sources said...snip

...Even people in the ruling coalition and the government are criticizing the plan as an attempt to ease the burden of utilities that had long held regional monopolies...



...The costs to decommission the reactors at the Fukushima plant are expected to soar to 6 trillion yen from the current estimate of 2 trillion yen, according to in-house documents of the industry ministry.

The ministry also needs an additional 3 trillion yen to cover compensation payments for evacuees from the 2011 nuclear disaster and 1.3 trillion yen to decommission reactors of other nuclear plants in the future, according to the documents...snip
Read More: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201609210045.html

September 27, 2016

Ohio: Hydrogen fuel cell buses joining Stark Area Regional Transit Authority

By John Funk, The Plain Dealer 9/27/16

CANTON -- The cleanest city buses in the state are about to begin rolling here. They will be powered by 150,000-watt fuel cells, and the only thing they will emit is water.

The Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, or SARTA, is about to roll out a fleet of 10 of these zero-emission vehicles. Fuel cells combine on-board hydrogen -- stored on the roof of the vehicle -- with oxygen from the air to generate electricity...snip



...The bus fleet -- which will be the third largest fuel cell fleet in the nation -- represent Ohio's manufacturing future, a future in which fuel cells will power automobiles as well as mass transit vehicles...snip

..."This is Ohio technology. This research is being done here in the public and private sectors that will lead to not only a cleaner transportation future but also to great jobs," he said...snip
Read More: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2016/09/hydrogen_fuel_cell_buses_joini.html

Hydrogen = Jobs

September 23, 2016

NatGeo: Building the world's largest solar power plant (India)

The Economic Times 9/21/16

CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: Adani Green Energy, part of the Adani Group, today said it has dedicated to the nation the world's largest 648-mw solar power plant in Tamil Nadu entailing an investment of Rs 4,550 crore.

The solar power plant, producing 648 mw at a single location, was formally dedicated to the nation, a company statement said.

"The plant is set up at Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram, in Tamil Nadu with an investment of Rs 4,550 crore. It is part of the state government's ambitious target of generating 3,000 mw as per the solar energy policy unveiled by the government in 2012," it said.



The entire 648-mw plant is now connected with Kamuthi 400 kv sub-station of Tantransco, making it the world's largest solar unit at a single location, it said.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/54444179.cms

http://www.adanipower.com/

September 23, 2016

Adani unveils world's largest (648 mW) solar power plant in Tamil Nadu, India (Video)

The Economic Times 9/21/16

CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: Adani Green Energy, part of the Adani Group, today said it has dedicated to the nation the world's largest 648-mw solar power plant in Tamil Nadu entailing an investment of Rs 4,550 crore.



The solar power plant, producing 648 mw at a single location, was formally dedicated to the nation, a company statement said.

"The plant is set up at Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram, in Tamil Nadu with an investment of Rs 4,550 crore. It is part of the state government's ambitious target of generating 3,000 mw as per the solar energy policy unveiled by the government in 2012," it said.

The entire 648-mw plant is now connected with Kamuthi 400 kv sub-station of Tantransco, making it the world's largest solar unit at a single location, it said.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/54444179.cms

http://www.adanipower.com/

National Geographic Megastructures featuring Adani’s Solar Power Plant

Sep 16, 2016: World’s largest single location solar power plant with a capacity of 648 MW of energy, having over 25 lakh solar modules installed and spread across 2500 acres of land.

Watch the full episode of National Geographic's Megastructures to get a peek into how Adani makes use of this renewable source of energy at World’s largest Solar Power Plant at Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu.

September 21, 2016

World's first zero-emission hydrogen passenger train to go into service in Germany

Germany is set to host the world's first zero-emission, hydrogen passenger train when it gets into gear next year.

The Local.de : 20 Sep 2016

The hydrogen, or hydrail, train is set to run on the Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in Lower Saxony starting in December 2017, Die Welt reported on Tuesday.

The train - called the "Coradia iLint" - has been developed over the past two years by French company Alstom and was presented on Tuesday at the Berlin InnoTrans trade show.


Photo: Alstom press office

The hydrogen train operates using a hydrogen fuel tank, stored on the roof of the train, that in turn powers a fuel cell to produce electrical energy. This technology provides a new environmentally friendly alternative to the diesel trains that are still used across much of Germany.

“Alstom is proud to launch a breakthrough innovation in the field of clean transportation which will complete its Coradia range of regional trains," said Alstom chairman and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, in a statement...snip

... Engineers have been developing ‘hydrail’ technology for the last 15 years, but mostly with freight trains.

In 2006, the East Japan Railway Company gave the first test run for a hydrail railcar. And in 2015, a Chinese company introduced the first hydrail tram...snip
Read More: http://www.thelocal.de/20160920/first-alstom-hydrogen-train-at-berlin-innotrans-tradeshow

Comment by moon-worshiper on Reddit:

The more informative aspect of this news is who is making the Locomotive Motors? Plus Germany is now more advanced than the US and Japanese in powerful, affordable fuel cells. In the US, fuel cells have virtually no presence beyond NASA, where they are recognized as very high cost, because space. Japan introduced the first fuel cell Honda to the US several years ago. Those first ones cost $2 million and weighed a couple thousand more pounds than an equivalent gas compact. Honda is introducing the fuel cell car next year for $50,000 sticker. Things might change. The PEM (proton exchange membrane) with platinum catalyst is what was making fuel cells expensive, heavy, with a lot of waste heat.

A Fuel Cell Electric Locomotive is a big thing. It means it can transport container rail cars, which will decrease long haul trucks. This advancement from Germany is from their Type 212 submarine, a hybrid closed cycle diesel and fuel cell propulsion, both driving the propeller electric motors. Submarines can have a heavy propulsion system since they are meant to be negatively buoyant most of the time.

That is fantastic the Germans have kept refining the size and cost of fuel cells while increasing electric motor power and decreasing size. The submarine use has also given them extremely detailed information about cost to run and reliability. The reason fuel cell is different? It is an independent power source. And those submarines are traveling very long distances underwater, and silently.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/53nfpt/worlds_first_hydrogen_train_to_go_into_service_in/

in Deutschland, Wasserstoff und Brennstoffzellen sind die Zukunft

September 21, 2016

Toyota is using sewage sludge to power its new electric car

Quartz.com by Taylor Wolford 9/20/16

Hydrogen fuel cell cars could help solve the global warming crisis, but nobody wants to buy them. Yoshikazu Tanaka, chief engineer of the Toyota Mirai, Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell car, calls it a “chicken or the egg” problem: no one wants to purchase hydrogen cars because there are no hydrogen fuel stations, and nobody wants to build hydrogen fuel stations because there are no hydrogen cars.

[center][/center]

But Toyota thinks it may have found a solution. For unlimited clean energy, it’s turning to one of the dirtiest places there is: the toilet.

In Fukuoka, Japan, the automaker is converting human waste into hydrogen to fuel the Mirai. The process is pretty simple. At a wastewater treatment plant, like the Fukuoka City Central Water Processing Plant, sewage is separated into liquid and solid waste. The solid waste, called sewage sludge, is exactly what it sounds like: a foul-smelling, brown lump. Most sewage sludge is thrown in landfills...snip

...If Tanaka has his way, Japan and the U.S. will soon follow suit. Currently, the Fukuoka plant produces 300 kilograms of hydrogen per day, enough to fuel 65 Mirai vehicles, Tanaka says. If all the biogas produced by the plant were converted to hydrogen, that number would jump to 600 cars per day. It’s a far cry from enough to achieve his goal of a “hydrogen society” that has no need whatsoever for fossil fuels, but it’s a good first step. Ideally, the process would be implemented in a scaled-up fashion at the wastewater processing plants of the world’s biggest cities.

Using wastewater is arguably the greenest way to make hydrogen, especially for big cities, where there are a lot of people who produce a lot of sewage, and most of that sewage, after it’s been treated, is discarded...snip
Read More: http://qz.com/785654/toyota-is-using-sewage-sludge-to-power-its-new-electric-car/

日本では、水素がナンバー1であります

September 18, 2016

Fukushima in detail

This is the kind of reactor used in Unit 1
This is a General electric boiling water reactor or BWR-3 the 3 means it is the 3rd design but it considered to be a 1st generation reactor. The containment around the reactor is of the mark-1 design and has a distinctive light bulb shape with a torus around the bottom that serves as the wet well for holding extra cooling water and for condensing steam released by the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit-1 at Fukushima was a BWR-3 reactor in a Mk-1 containment started construction in 1969

Unit 2,3, 4 and 5 were a newer BWR-4 in a MK-1 containment and were built between 1969 and 1972

Unit 6 was a BWR-5 in a MK-2 containment that started construction in 1979.



GE BWR-1
This is a picture of the brown's ferry reactor in the USA, it is the same kind of reactor containment used in Units 1-5 of the Fukushima plant.

the Lid for the reactor can be seen on the bottom of the picture, in later pictures you will see the lid for the Fukushima plant.

The little people working on the thing are highlighted in red.



Fukushima Daiichi Administraive building
the Fukushima plant had survived major earthquakes before in the past and despite being a more powerful earthquake than the plant was designed to withstand things were stable.



Backup diesel generators supplied power for reactor cooling
In Fukushima outside power was lost when the earthquake damaged the ultra high voltage switchgear equipment sending power into the plant so backup diesel generators supplied power to coolant pumps to cool the reactor. Each reactor had it's own set of backup generators.

Many more images: http://imgur.com/gallery/LZ1Fm


Discussion: Just dropping in to say please feel free to ask me any technical questions about the design or operation of a GE BWR. I'm a licensed senior reactor operator for a BWR. https://www.reddit.com/r/energy/comments/531z0v/fukushima_in_detail/