Originally published January 31 2005
Hydrogen could be derived from used automobile oil
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center have built a thermocatalytic reactor that can process used motor oil and similar substances and convert them into clean hydrogen fuel. The reactor uses water at a temperature of more than 374 degrees centigrade and very high pressure. Used lubricants are currently generally considered a nuisance, but could become a steady supply of clean fuel using the new method.
While the phrase "Hydrogen Economy" is heard often these days and is widely anticipated by people who hope to see our world function using renewable energy resources, all agree that a lot of complex preparatory work still needs to be done.
Used lube oil - often considered just another substance to be disposed of - can be valuable when recycled as a re-refined lubricant or as an energy source.
One of the more interesting hydrogen projects going on now deals with a unique way to produce hydrogen.
Dr. Ali Raissi and Karthikayan Ramasamy with the Florida Solar Energy Center are developing a process to produce hydrogen based on reformation of used automotive lubricating oils.
Used lube oil - often considered just another substance to be disposed of - can be valuable when recycled as a re-refined lubricant or as an energy source.
Each year, Floridians generate more than more than 45 million gallons of used lubricating oils.
Typically, used lubricating oil is delivered at a cost of 10 cents per gallon, making it a potentially inexpensive source for local production of hydrogen.
At FSEC, Raissi and Ramasamy have built a thermocatalytic reactor that uses supercritical water to accomplish reformation of lube oils.
Water becomes a supercritical fluid at temperature above 374.2?C and pressure over 22.1 MPa.
In the Supercritical region, densities are a fraction of that of normal liquid water, while solubility behavior is closer to that of high-pressure steam.
To date, FSEC researchers have operated this system successfully and have demonstrated that hydrogen can be produced by using the supercritical water reformation method.
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