The technology for extracting Hydrogen from the Water molecule, H2O, which we submit to you herein might seem as if it would have little applicability to US Coal Country. And, directly, it might not; although there are some possibilities we'll make note of, and remind you of, further on.
This is a process pretty obviously designed for operation in the United States desert southwest, or subtropical southeast, where things like solar thermal concentrators could be built and reliably utilized.
However, the potential importance of Hydrogen to all United States citizens, and especially to those of us in United States Coal Country, shouldn't be underestimated.
For instance, as seen in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Saudi Arabia and Texas CO2 to Hydrocarbon Syngas | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 8,288,446 - Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 into Syngas Mixture; 2012; Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Riyadh; Abstract: The invention relates to a process of making a syngas mixture containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, comprising a step of contacting a gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen with a catalyst, wherein the catalyst substantially consists of chromia/alumina. This process enables hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide with high selectivity, and good catalyst stability over time and under variations in processing conditions. The process can be applied separately, but can also be combined with other processes, for example up-stream with other synthesis processes for making products like aliphatic oxygenates, olefins or aromatics"; and:West Virginia Coal Association | US Navy May 7, 2013, CO2 to Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 8,436,457 - Synthesis of Hydrocarbons Via Catalytic Reduction of CO2; 2013; Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy; Abstract: A method of: introducing hydrogen and a feed gas containing at least 50 vol % carbon dioxide into a reactor containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst; and heating the hydrogen and carbon dioxide to a temperature of at least about 190 C to produce hydrocarbons in the reactor. An apparatus having: a reaction vessel for containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst, capable of heating gases to at least about 190 C; a hydrogen delivery system feeding into the reaction vessel; a carbon dioxide delivery system for delivering a feed gas containing at least 50 vol % carbon dioxide feeding into the reaction vessel; and a trap for collecting hydrocarbons generated in the reaction vessel";
a ready supply of Hydrogen would enable those of us reliant on abundant and affordable Coal-based electric power to tell the suspiciously-motivated "environmentalists" holding elected office in Washington, DC, exactly what they can do with their Cap and Trade CO2 taxes; and, it would enable all of us in the United States of America to tell OPEC exactly what they can do with their over-priced oil.
Wouldn't that be fun?
There are other things we can do with Hydrogen, as well, which we'll touch on briefly following excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent 7,960,063 - Hydrogen Production by a Thermochemical Water Splitting Cycle
Patent US7960063 - Hydrogen production by a thermochemical water splitting cycle - Google Patents
Date: June, 2011
Inventors: Vasilios Manousiouthakis and Ioannis Manousiouthakis, Los Angeles, CA
Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
Abstract: A novel thermochemical cycle for the decomposition of water is presented. Along with water, hydrogen, and oxygen, the cycle involves an alkali or alkali earth metal based process intermediate and a variety of reaction intermediates. The cycle is driven by renewable energy sources, and can have a maximum operating temperature below 1173 K (900 C). The kinetics of the cycle are based on the reactant behavior as well as the separability characteristics of the chemicals involved.
(That is plenty of heat that's needed to drive this thing; but, some of it can come from exothermic chemical reactions involved in the process. Other, perhaps intriguing, options are presented, however.)
Claims: A method for hydrogen, oxygen and heat production, comprising: thermally decomposing an alkali metal carbonate or an alkali earth metal carbonate to produce a gaseous metal, carbon dioxide and oxygen; liquefying the gaseous metal to a liquid metal; reacting said liquid metal with a hydroxide to produce a metal oxide and hydrogen; reacting the metal oxide with water to produce a metal hydroxide; reacting some of said metal hydroxide with carbon dioxide to recover metal carbonate for use with said thermally decomposing step; recovering some of said metal hydroxide for use with said reacting said liquid metal step; and recycling the recovered metal carbonate and the metal hydroxide; recovering said hydroxide and said metal carbonate; and recycling said metal carbonate for use with said thermal decomposition step and said hydroxide for use with said reaction with metal step, wherein recycling of said metal carbonate and said hydroxide permit continuous production.
(Note, in the above, mention of "carbon dioxide" being reacted and/or generated. Our read of this is that the CO2 is simply cycled within the system as a reactant or reagent, and little or even none of it is generated that would require extraction and discharge.)
A method ... wherein said hydroxide comprises water (and) sodium hydroxide.
A method ... wherein said alkali metal based carbonate or alkali earth metal carbonate comprises ... sodium bicarbonate and said hydroxide comprises sodium hydroxide.
(Baking soda and Lye, in other words. Think we could scrounge some up? This isn't real sophisticated chemistry, folks. You might well have the needed ingredients in your bathrooms and kitchens.)
A method ... wherein the said thermal decomposition of said metal carbonate takes place in temperatures at approximately 1173 K.
(That seems pretty precise for "approximately"; and, it is plenty hot. As can be calculated via:
Online Conversion - Temperature Conversion; "1173 K" equals, roughly 1650 F, or, 900 C.)
A method ... wherein the thermochemical cycle operates in the absence of solids (and further comprises) performing said decomposition and reactions within a closed system; removing heat produced from said system; and generating power, electricity, or both, from said heat.
(In other words, some of the energy needed, but not all as we read it, or the costs of that energy, for operation of the system can be offset by reclaiming and utilizing the heat energy generated by some of the reactions within the system. It isn't, thus, nearly as uneconomical or inefficient as it might seem from just the requirement for a "temperatures at approximately 1173 K".)
A method ... wherein the generating step uses fuel cells or turbines to generate said power, electricity, or both.
A method for hydrogen, oxygen and heat production, comprising: thermally decomposing an alkali metal carbonate or an alkali earth metal carbonate to produce a gaseous metal, carbon dioxide and oxygen within a system; liquefying the gaseous metal to a liquid metal; separating said liquid metal from the produced carbon dioxide and oxygen; reacting said liquid metal with water to produce a metal hydroxide and hydrogen; removing said hydrogen; recovering said metal carbonate from said metal hydroxide; reacting the metal hydroxide with carbon dioxide to recover the metal carbonate; removing heat from said system; and recycling said recovered metal carbonate for thermal decomposition.
(As in the above "separating said ... produced carbon dioxide and oxygen (and) reacting the metal hydroxide with carbon dioxide to recover the metal carbonate", it seems that much, if not all, of the CO2 generated within the system is recycled within the system. It is not emitted.)
A method for hydrogen, oxygen and heat production, comprising: thermally decomposing one or more alkali metal carbonates or one or more alkali earth metal carbonates to produce one or more gaseous metals, carbon dioxide and oxygen within a system; liquefying the gaseous metals into liquid metals; separating said liquid metals from the produced carbon dioxide and oxygen; reacting said liquid metals with water to produce metal hydroxides and hydrogen; removing said hydrogen; recovering alkali metal or alkali earth metal carbonates from said metal hydroxides by reacting them with the carbon dioxide and oxygen produced from the initial thermal decomposition of said alkali metal or alkali earth carbonates; and recycling said recovered alkali metal or alkali earth metal carbonates for thermal decomposition.
A method ... further comprising: removing heat from said system; and generating power, electricity, or both, from said heat.
Background and Summary: This invention pertains generally to the production of hydrogen from water, and more particularly to a thermochemical cycle using a renewable energy source that efficiently separates water into its components.
The present invention provides a novel thermochemical cycle for the decomposition of water. Along with water, hydrogen, and oxygen, the cycle involves an alkali or alkali earth metal based catalyst and a variety of reaction intermediates. The cycle is driven by renewable energy sources, and can have a maximum operating temperature below 1173 K (900 C). Alternatively, the cycle can operate at much higher temperatures.
An aspect of the invention is a method ... for water splitting, comprising: introducing water into a system, introducing an alkali metal based or alkali earth metal based process intermediate into the system, separating the alkali metal based or alkali earth metal based process intermediate to produce reaction intermediates, reacting a subset of the reaction intermediates with water to produce hydrogen and hydroxide, combining a subset of the reaction intermediates with the hydroxide to produce water and oxygen, reforming the alkali metal based or alkali earth metal based process intermediate for continued use in the system, and removing the hydrogen and the oxygen from the system.
One embodiment further comprises removing heat from the system, and generating power, electricity, or both from the heat. In another embodiment, the generating step uses fuel cells or turbines to generate the power, electricity, or both."
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Again, our read, just our sadly impaired read, of this is, that, if you have enough heat energy to kick the reaction off, the process itself will generate much, but perhaps not quite all, of the energy needed to keep it going. And, as seen in our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | Another Energy Bonanza for Coal Country | Research & Development; concerning, in part: "'West Virginia Geothermal; A Large Green Energy Source Beneath Northeastern West Virginia'; Southern Methodist University, 2010; New research produced by Southern Methodist University's Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, suggests that the temperature of the Earth beneath the state of West Virginia is significantly higher than previously estimated and capable of supporting commercial baseload geothermal energy production. Geothermal energy is the use of the Earth's heat to produce heat and electricity";
we do have some rather large, actually enormous, reserves of heat energy accessible to us; and, although the temperatures of the West Virginia geothermal resource aren't quite as high as those required to initiate the process of our subject herein, "United States Patent 7,960,063 - Hydrogen Production by a Thermochemical Water Splitting Cycle", they could be used to help get us part-ways there, and to help keep the reactions going; a potential indirectly acknowledged by another reputable source, as seen in another of our reports concerning the economical production of Hydrogen:
West Virginia Coal Association | General Electric Hydrogen from Geothermal Energy | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 7,331,179 - System and Method for Production of Hydrogen; 2008; General Electric Company; Abstract: A technique is disclosed for a system and method for combined production of power and hydrogen utilizing the heat from a first working fluid heated by a geothermal energy source".
And, as valuable as Hydrogen might prove to be in a process like that disclosed in our earlier-cited report concerning: "United States Patent 8,436,457 - Synthesis of Hydrocarbons Via Catalytic Reduction of CO2; 2013; Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy"; we remind you as well, that, as seen for one example in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Consol Liquid Fuels from Coal with WVU Coal Solvent | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 3,162,594 - Process for Producing Liquid Fuels from Coal; 1964; Assignee: Consolidation Coal Company, Pittsburgh; Abstract: This invention relates to an improved process for producing liquid fuels such as gasoline from coal. (The) primary object of this invention is to provide an improved process for minimizing the deleterious effect of coal-extract ash ... on hydrocracking catalyst during the production of ash-free, distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid from ash-containing coal extract. In accordance with my invention, ash-containing coal extract ... is subjected to hydrogenation. At least a portion of the non-distillable liquid subsequently is catalytically hydrocracked to produce additional ash-free, benzene-soluble, distillable liquid. The distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid ... from both hydrogenation and hydrocracking is suitable for refining to gasoline. ... The hydrogen used for hydrogenating the coal extract may be supplied by extraneous hydrogen gas ... ";and, as we will soon further document in reports to follow, the availability of elemental, molecular Hydrogen also enables the direct, efficient production of such seemingly-desirable stuff as "gasoline" from by far our most abundant fossil energy resource: Coal.