hydrogen powered marine engine

[safewalrus]

Bryan if you need to dive into the water it's too bloody late the jobs gone bang!

[nero]

For a stable power source this would work
http://www.atomicinsights.com/apr95/batteries.html

[JonathanCole]

Originally Posted by Bryan Campbell

hey guys first off i wonder jonathancoe if there would be a way to keep adding fresh saltwater/water to the appilication for an on demand style hydrogen system and as far as corroding and coating the electrodes if need be to replace the electrodes I personaly wouldnt mind doing it just to stay in the water longer

I think the salt would coat the electrodes in a matter of minutes. Saltwater is a great conductor of electricity (an electrolyte) but unless you can stop the salt from poisoning the electrolysis/hydrolysis process, it is the wrong way to go.

[Ari]

Hydrogen combustion technology is at it's very advance level in oil industries, but for public application in an internal combustion engine it still does'nt even reach more than research laboratory level.It is too risky and costly . Hydrogen is the lightest gas, up to now the present technology can only safely bottle C3, C4, and the longer chain gases.Not even C1 and C2 ,Hydrogen is lighter than C1.To bottle it the amount of energy needed is too high and the safe cylinder thickness is real thick and heavy all this make the cost shoot up into and uneconomic and hazardous range.To high a risk to do Hydrogen bottling back yard..unless somebody are interested in making Hydrogen gas bomb.. Even in a very advance oil refinery it was noticed that it is safer to burn the hydrogen gases in the furnaces and flares..instead of recovering it and do bottling..and they produces Hydrogen as a by product.. can consider it free..still it is too hazardous for mass bottling.Better to look into Nitrogen or biomass or methanol. The technology is much more advance in all this field.

[Wellydeckhand]

Why not Just use LNG?

[Ari]

Actually there exist Hydrogen fill up station at bus depots in Amsterdam and Luxembourg,you can fill up publicly at a station in Iceland and one in Washington DC, I don't know how many in Japan. All those vehicle use fuel cell. Hydrogen solution might not be viable until next decade..o.k I don't know how long it will take...Until then hydrocarbon fuel will still make up the biggest share.LNG is the cheapest gas available for fuel..no infrastructure available for small time user though, it is more profitable to the producers to sell in bulk..the Japanese are buying this cheap and clean gas to fuel their country..! Sorry no chances for us..what about coal..?

[Wellydeckhand]

Next level....... like the movie........ just make synthesis plutonium or sometin, small cheap and easy to carry. Or bacteri that give off energy...

[Ari]

You are ready to face the Ceasar ? He might declare it as weapon of mass destruction instead of an engine...and send in the Ohio.

[Wellydeckhand]

Global "O" Zero is not far anyway......... That's why people buy ship, just in case........

[Yachts CF]

There is a very recognized German company called ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, it is using fuel cell for some of it's subs.http://www.thyssenkrupp-marinesystems.com

[yipster]

i still imagine boats should extract hydrogen from the water they sail on
like astronauts extract oxigen from the moons soil

[marshmat]

why not have a propeller catching drag from the water turning a generator that creates the energy for the electrolysis there for creating hydrogen in a separate tank filling it up then using a valve switching tanks and filling up the other tank keeping both tanks full

As dictated by the second law of thermodynamics, there will be irreversibilities and losses at every stage of the system. Here, the extra drag created by the turbine would slow the boat down, thus requiring you to apply more power to keep it running at the same speed. The extra power you would have to apply to hold the same speed would be more than the power you would get from the device.

Best is to use hydrogen on demand system. Attached is a document which shows how to build a device that claims to do just that. I make no claims for its ability to perform as claimed or to its safety. Proceed at your own risk.

Where does the electricity come from to power this device? If it is from the power grid, and the hydrogen is stored, then the device is feasible (and, indeed, such a device is in commercial use already). If it is from the car's battery, which is charged by the car's alternator, the device is a Type-1 Perpetual Motion Machine and so is not realistic.

[marshmat]

Originally Posted by JonathanCole

I think the salt would coat the electrodes in a matter of minutes. Saltwater is a great conductor of electricity (an electrolyte) but unless you can stop the salt from poisoning the electrolysis/hydrolysis process, it is the wrong way to go.

True indeed. To prevent salt buildup on the electrodes you would have to pass far more water over the electrodes than you would actually electrolyze. Add a strong DC current to the mix and you have serious corrosion concerns too. Electrolyzers require relatively clean, pure water to function properly.

[marshmat]

Originally Posted by Wellydeckhand

Why not Just use LNG?

Natural gas, like oil, is running out. There is not a huge supply crunch yet but there have been cost hikes and there have been very few new fields found in the last decade.
As a fuel, LNG (liquid natural gas, ie. liquid methane) is quite good- it burns hot and clean, and is not nearly as hard to transport as hydrogen. The LNG form, though, is considered a cryogenic liquid and can be very dangerous if spilled. In compressed (CNG) form it is already a common fuel for taxis and delivery vans in cities, where the low pollution and low cost help keep smog down and profits up.

[FAST FRED]

"In compressed (CNG) form it is already a common fuel for taxis and delivery vans in cities, where the low pollution and low cost help keep smog down and profits up."

CNG is compressed to about 3000psi and has very very little heat value.
It is used in fleet service where the bus-taxi returns to the depot many times a day and can be refilled quite often.

For a boat the monstrous fuel cylinders would take most of the Volume , (CNG tanks need to be HUGE!)
and Dsplacement (3000psi tanks are heavy!) .

For a day boat , making tourist runs of short duration , perhaps ,
for anything else? CNG is hardly concievable.

FAST FRED