Sun, 2007-07-01 By , Energy Forum of Western Pennsylvania, July 1, 2007
Doctor Botte is Director of the Electrochemical Engineering Research Lab at Ohio University. Her complete credentials are listed in the URL for this article.
Dr. Botte has pioneered a usable system of recovering hydrogen that uses ammonia rather than water as the hydrogen source. Her system sucessfully addresses the problems associated with alternative fuels in general and hydrogen in particular. For those of you with a technical bent, we have a file that details her work. Unfortunately, it is too large to attach to the post. If anyone would like to see it, contact me (Herb Caponi) for a copy.
In summary, electricity from a renewable source is applied to ammonia producing hydrogen, nitrogen, and clean water. There are no greenhouse emissions.
Maurice Zeldman, himself one of the pioneers of the robotics industry, arranged for several of our group to visit Dr. Botte and see her work first hand. The visit occurred on June 8, 2007. Murray, which he prefers to Maurice, along with his wife, Catherine Zeldman, Larry Comden, Gloria Snyder, and myself visited Dr. Botte's labratory. She reviewed her work in detail and showed us some exciting working models.
In brief, the problems which must (all) be resolved for alternatives to fossil fuels are technical feasibility, severance from a fossil fuel foundation or platform, scale , environmental impact, sustainability, and EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Invested, a physical, not financial, concept). The EROEI ratio must be significantly greater than one or the system is an energy user, not an energy provider. Dr. Botte's system is successful in addressing these issues. It also resolves the problems specifically associated with hydrogen (it's explosive, extremely difficult to store, and until now took more energy to produce than is gained).
It is especially exciting that the system can be applied on a scale as small as a house, a farm, or a moving vehicle. It is also possible to apply it on a larger scale, but we are committed to relocalizing our economy, and it works with the goal of relocalization.
Thanks. I thought you were referring to something more recent.
I don't understand the value of producing hydrogen from ammonia. Ammonia itself is produced from hydrogen gas and nitrogen-- using natural gas most frequently as the feedstock, and sometimes LPG or petroleum naphtha.
Methane is used to create hydrogen gas and combined with nitrogen to create ammonia. It's called the Haber process.
So why would one take an extra step to create hydrogen by then breaking ammonia back down?
Even if it's somehow more efficient, it won't break dependence on fossil fuels as ammonia is produced from fossil fuels.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
