Re: A new development in renewable fuels

Ceria is cerium oxide. Though a rare earth oxide, it is a commonly-used
material for polishing glass, lapidary materials and precious metals. JimA

William Hamilton wrote:

> I have read the article. One error I note is the claim that a 1 KW
> output can supply the average household. When sizing emergency
> generators for homes, the conventional wisdom is you need around
> 10KW. Of course that's for peak loads. Obviously if all you're
> running is lights you could get along on 1 KW. But run the TV and the
> dishwasher and a few other appliances simultaneously and it mounts up.
>
> One point that did impress me is that water in the alcohol does no
> harm -- in fact it contributes additional hydrogen molecules that are
> also separated by the catalyst.
>
> Somehow I think rhodium is scarce and expensive. Don't know about
> ceria -- never heard of it in fact.
>
> On Friday, February 13, 2004, at 07:20 PM, William Hamilton wrote:
>
>> The following article details a new reactor developed at the
>> University of MN that converts ethyl alchohol into hydrogen. It's
>> much smaller than previous such devices -- small enough that it could
>> be installed in a home. I haven't read it thoroughly, so I can't
>> tell how pure the feedstock has to be. And that's important, since
>> it takes energy to isolate alcohol. Also, of course it takes
>> fertilizer to raise the corn from which the alcohol is made. But
>> perhaps this is a small part of an eventual solution.
>>
>> http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-02/uom-nrp020904.php
>>
>> Bill Hamilton Rochester, MI 248 652 4148
>>
>>
> Bill Hamilton Rochester, MI 248 652 4148
>
>
>
>
Received on Sat Feb 14 11:27:05 2004