Hydrogen tablets developed
Scientists at the University of Denmark have made a leap forward by creating a hydrogen tablet that stores hydrogen in an inexpensive and safe material. Because hydrogen gas is flammable and is extremely light, scientists have long had issues storing it safely and effectively. Storing enough hydrogen gas at normal pressure to drive a car 600Km would require a fuel tank the size of nine cars. (What kind of car you’d be driving, how fast you’d be traveling, and what size car would be used as a storage device is left as an exercise to the reader.)
The new method is quite different.
The hydrogen tablet is safe and inexpensive. In this respect it is different from most other hydrogen storage technologies. You can literally carry the material in your pocket without any kind of safety precaution. The reason is that the tablet consists solely of ammonia absorbed efficiently in sea-salt. Ammonia is produced by a combination of hydrogen with nitrogen from the surrounding air, and the DTU-tablet therefore contains large amounts of hydrogen. Within the tablet, hydrogen is stored as long as desired, and when hydrogen is needed, ammonia is released through a catalyst that decomposes it back to free hydrogen. When the tablet is empty, you merely give it a “shot” of ammonia and it is ready for use again.
I can see it now: we’ll all go to our gas stations and fill up on ammonia — which is dangerous — and drive around in our quiet H-powered cars. Cars powered by hydrogen do not emit carbon dioxide (or carbon monoxide, for that matter), and the hydrogen can be produced by renewable energy sources, such as wind power, completely cutting fossil fuels out of the picture.
I’d like more details on the conversion process from ammonia to free hydrogen. Jan-Willem points out that the storage of hydrogen is largely the last/greatest barrier to widespread hydrogen fuel cell adoption. (Besides inertia.)
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Would you care to point out the currently feasible way to renewably create hydrogen? Since nearly all of it currently comes from methane. This right here is precisely the reason why the hydrogen economy is the solution its promoted as. Until some finds a good way to make it without using fossil fuels, its just a bunch of nice ideas.
Comment by Eric — September 27, 2005 @ 2:07 am
How soon will my company be able to distribute and market these hydrogen tablets? What sort of aperatus will need to be installed in order to up-grade conventional internal combustion motors ? What type of commercial facility will the successful distributor require and what are we talking about as far as seed capital goes ? This technology is outstanding !! It’s what we’ve been looking for !!
THANX !!!
Steven L. Andersen MM, WESTERN ENDEAVORS, LLC
Comment by Steve Andersen — July 2, 2006 @ 9:51 pm
I would like to receive more information about this hydrogen tablets. Could you please send it to me?
Thank you very much
Alex from the country of Mexico
Comment by Alejandra Almanza (Mexico) — November 2, 2006 @ 11:44 pm