United States Patent Application: 0090026089
Since free, elemental Hydrogen is required by a number of intriguing Coal liquefaction and Carbon Dioxide recycling technologies we've reported on, and which we often make reference to, such as, for instance, West Virginia University's "West Virginia Process" for the direct liquefaction of Coal, as described succinctly in:
WVU Hydrogenates Coal Tar | Research & Development; concerning the: "Hydrogenation of Naphthalene and Coal Tar Distillate; Abhijit Bhagavatula; West Virginia University; 2009; Abstract: The hydrogenation of naphthalene ... has been carried out in a Trickle Bed Reactor, in which the liquid is allowed to flow through the catalyst bed in the presence of hydrogen (to form) the hydrogenated product, tetralin (for use in) direct liquefaction processes (where) the organic structure of coal is broken down to produce distillable liquids";
and, for instance, the century-old Sabatier process, as seen in:
NASA Rocket Fuel from CO2 | Research & Development; wherein it's explained that: "Although Mars is not rich in methane, methane can be manufactured there via the Sabatier process: Mix some carbon dioxide (CO2) with hydrogen (H), then heat the mixture to produce CH4 and H20 -- methane and water";
we wanted to again affirm that obtaining the Hydrogen needed for such seemingly-desirable processes shouldn't be seen as being that big of a deal.
Herein, scientists from Germany explain how we can obtain pure Hydrogen through an improved and efficient process for splitting plain old Water, H2O, into it's elemental constituents.
Comment follows excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent Application 20090026089 - System and Method for Splitting Water
Date: January, 2009
Inventors: Walter Kothe, et. al., Germany
Assignee: Hermsdorfer Institut, Germany
Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and a method for cleaving water by means of hyperpolarisation, the system comprising a first electrode and at least one additional electrode; at least one porous ferroelectric layer arranged between the first and the additional electrode; as well as an AC voltage or pulsed DC voltage source. With the method according to the present invention it is possible to cleave the water economically into hydrogen and oxygen and obtain gases for technical purposes.
A method (and) a system for cleaving water comprising: a first electrode and at least one additional electrode; at least one porous ferroelectric layer arranged between the first and the additional electrode; and an AC voltage source.
Applying an AC voltage to the electrodes of the system, wherein water is cleaved in the system essentially into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas ... .
The method is even more environmentally friendly if AC voltage originating from solar energy is (utilized)."
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Well, we don't often have an abundance of sunshine, "solar energy", available in the cloudy environs of our often-rainy US Coal Country; but, as can be seen for one instance in:
Hydropower: A Small but Growing Presence in W.Va. Electric Grid - State Journal - STATEJOURNAL.com;
which declares that: "While West Virginia electric power generation is dominated by large coal-burning power plants, hydropower has a presence in the Mountain State, too";
we do have some other options for supplying the needed "AC voltage".
And, if those other options would provide us with the Coal-conserving energy needed to, as in the process of United States Patent Application 20090026089, start splitting "water economically into hydrogen and oxygen", and, thus making Hydrogen available for use in processes such as that explained in:
Conoco Hydrogenates Carbon Monoxide | Research & Development; wherein is disclosed: "United States Patent 6,727,289 - Boron Promoted Catalysts and Fischer-Tropsch Processes; 2004; Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company; Abstract: A process is disclosed for producing hydrocarbons. The process involves contacting a feed stream comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide with a catalyst";
and, wherein the Carbon Monoxide required by Conoco's process of "United States Patent 6,727,289" is manufactured via a process similar to that described, for one instance, in:
More Pre-WWII CO2 Recycling | Research & Development; which makes report of the: "United States Patent 2,128,262 - Carbon Monoxide Manufacture; 1938; Assignee: Semet-Solvay Engineering Corporation;Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide an efficient and economical process for the manufacture of carbon monoxide of high purity by the reduction of carbon dioxide (and, which entails) passing carbon dioxide through ... (an) incandescent body of coke (i.e., red-hot Coal) to produce carbon monoxide";
then, we could, in West Virginia, start thinking seriously about making any and all of the "hydrocarbons" we might ever need, by simply utilizing, in combination, our seemingly-vast natural resources of Coal and flowing Water, and, the currently unwanted by-product of our Coal-based power generation, Carbon Dioxide.