One of us here is fond of wearing shirts of one sort or another, depending upon the season, emblazoned with the letters, the logo, "WV", or a stylized version of "WVU". Another, has a small collection of shirts branded with, variously, "Pitt", and, even, "PSU". Some reading this might prefer "M", or, "OSU".
Tell you what: We can toss them all in the dumpster, simplify our wardrobe selections, and maybe even get a volume discount for US Coal Country, if we buy nothing from here on out excepts shirts and hats emblazoned with nothing but the single, big red letter: "L".
Heck, anyone and everyone in the USA, who might prefer "USA"-branded casual wear can do the same.
We will have earned it.
First, we remind you of a couple of basic technologies. One is the long-known "reverse water gas shift" reaction, or, more simply, "reverse conversion", as explained in our report of:
France Efficient CO2 to Carbon Monoxide Conversion | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent Application 20030113244 - Method for Producing Carbon Monoxide by Reverse Conversion with an Adapted Catalyst; June, 2003; Inventor: Rene Dupont, et. al., France; Assignee: Air Liquide; Abstract: The invention concerns a method for producing carbon monoxide by reverse conversion, in gas phase, of carbonic acid gas and gaseous hydrogen while minimising the production of methane. The invention is characterised in that the reaction is carried out at a temperature between 300 and 520 C and under pressure between 10 to 40 bars in the presence of an iron-free catalyst based on zinc oxide and chromium oxide. Said method is preferably carried out continuously and comprises preferably the following steps which consist in: a) preparing a gas mixture rich in carbon dioxide and in hydrogen ... between 300 and 520 C (and) b) reacting said gas mixture, forming carbon monoxide and water vapour, by passing said mixture through a catalytic bed based on zinc oxide and chromium oxide maintained under pressure between 10 and 40 bars";
wherein, as has been known so long we might think of the technology as "ancient", elemental, molecular Hydrogen can be made to react with Carbon Dioxide to form Carbon Monoxide and Water. The trick being, in such processes, as will be emphasized further on, to minimize the competing synthesis of substitute natural gas Methane from Carbon Dioxide via the almost as ancient "Sabatier" reaction, which, as seen in:
NASA 2014 CO2 to Methane | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 8,710,106 - Sabatier Process and Apparatus for Controlling Exothermic Reaction; 2014; Assignee: Precision Combustion, Inc., CT; Abstract: A Sabatier process involving contacting carbon dioxide and hydrogen in a first reaction zone with a first catalyst bed at a temperature greater than a first designated temperature; feeding the effluent from the first reaction zone into a second reaction zone, and contacting the effluent with a second catalyst bed at a temperature equal to or less than a second designated temperature, so as to produce a product stream comprising water and methane. ... This invention was made with support from the U.S. government under U.S. Contract No. NNX10CF25P sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The U.S. Government holds certain rights in this invention";
has been much more lately updated and improved, just in case our goal in using Carbon Dioxide is for the production of substitute natural gas Methane, as opposed to liquid hydrocarbons, which can be synthesized from Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen by the almost as ancient "Fischer-Tropsch" process, which, as defined by the "McGraw-Hill Science and Technology Dictionary", is the:
"synthesis of hydrocarbons ... by the catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide. The synthesis was discovered in 1923 by F. Fischer and H. Tropsch at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research in Mulheim, Germany. The reaction is highly exothermic, and the reactor must be designed for adequate heat removal to control the temperature".
Note, in all of the above, that, by, as we will eventually see, happy circumstance, although the reverse water gas shift reaction, the "reverse conversion", is "endothermic", that is, it needs heat applied to it in order to proceed, the "Fischer-Tropsch" synthesis is "exothermic", and needs heat to be removed from it.
In any case, elemental, molecular Hydrogen is seen to be key to all the above, since it is first reacted with Carbon Dioxide, in the "reverse conversion", to form Carbon Monoxide; and, it is then be reacted with Carbon Monoxide, in the "Fischer-Tropsch" process, to form various "hydrocarbons". And, as can be learned for one example in our report of:
USDOE and California Solar Hydrogen for CO2-to-Fuel Conversion | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent Application 20130092549 - Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Using Water Vapor as a Feedstock; April 18, 2013; Assignee: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; Abstract: A light-driven electrolytic cell that uses water vapor as the feedstock and that has no wires or connections whatsoever to an external electrical power source of any kind. In one embodiment, the electrolytic cell uses a proton exchange membrane (PEM) with an IrRuOx water oxidation catalyst and a Pt black water reduction catalyst to consume water vapor and generate molecular oxygen and a chemical fuel, molecular hydrogen. The operation of the electrolytic cell using water vapor supplied by a humidified carrier gas has been demonstrated under varying conditions of the gas flow rate, the relative humidity, and the presence or absence of oxygen. The performance of the system with water vapor was also compared to the performance when the device was immersed in liquid water. Government Interests: This invention was made with government support under DE-SC0004993/T-105066 awarded by the Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in the invention";
we are getting pretty darned good at extracting elemental Hydrogen from the Water, H2O, molecule in processes which can be powered by freely-available environmental energy, such as, as in "light-driven", simple sunlight.
Now, given all of the above, since, as can be learned via:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/06/18/2014-13726/carbon-pollution-emission-guidelines-for-existing-stationary-sources-electric-utility-generating; "In this action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing emission guidelines for states to follow in developing plans to address greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units. Specifically, the EPA is proposing state-specific rate-based goals for carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector, as well as guidelines for states to follow in developing plans to achieve the state-specific goals. This rule, as proposed, would continue progress already underway to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants in the United States"; - - -
the issue of Carbon Dioxide emissions arising from our economically essential generation of reliable and affordable electricity from our abundant domestic US Coal is becoming, through blind regulation by dictate, a topic of growing concern, as our imports of hydrocarbon fuels from the beneficent coalition of nations known as OPEC has for a long time been a concern, it's stunning that more hasn't been made in our Coal Country press of, it's shocking that alarms haven't been raised over, developments like those seen in our reports of:
Saudi Arabia and Texas CO2 to Hydrocarbon Syngas | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 8,288,446 - Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 into Syngas Mixture;2012; Inventors: Agaddin Mamedov, Texas, and Abdulaziz Al-Jodai, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Assignee: 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:
Saudi Arabia and Texas Improve CO2 to Syngas Conversion | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent Application 20130150466 - Mixed Oxide Based Catalyst for the Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Syngas and Method of Preparation and Use; June 13, 2013; Inventors: Aghaddin Mamedov, et. al., Texas; Assignee: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Abstract: The invention relates to a catalyst and process for making syngas mixtures including hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The process comprises contacting a gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen with the catalyst, where the catalyst comprises Manganese oxide and an auxiliary metal oxide selected from the group consisting of Lanthanum, Calcium, Potassium, Tungsten, Copper, Aluminum and mixtures or combinations thereof. The 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 ... integrated with ... synthesis processes for making products like alkanes, aldehydes, or alcohols";
wherein it can be seen that our esteemed and beneficent suppliers of OPEC petroleum have established the ways and means by which, in essence, the Reverse Water Gas Shift, RWGS, reaction and the Fischer-Tropsch, F-T, synthesis can be combined in a single reaction space, in which space, through sequential and contiguous catalyzed reactions, elemental Hydrogen first converts Carbon Dioxide into Carbon Monoxide and, then, converts the CO2-derived Carbon Monoxide into hydrocarbons.
The above-represented work by Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation, SABIC, on the conversion of Carbon Dioxide into hydrocarbons, through catalyzed reactions with Hydrogen, is ongoing. Our reviews of the available literature indicate that they are further identifying and refining the catalysts which can be used to more efficiently drive the individual processes of the RWGS reaction and F-T synthesis, so that they can then be combined in a Carbon Dioxide-to-Hydrocarbon conversion process.
And, herein, we see that SABIC not long did identify some improved catalysts, and processing conditions, for conducting what is, in essence, the RWGS reaction.
As seen, with comment inserted and appended, in excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent 8,551,434 - Method of Forming a Syngas Mixture
Patent US8551434 - Method of forming a syngas mixture - Google Patents
Method of forming a syngas mixture - Saudi Basic Industries Corporation
Date: October 8, 2013
Inventors: Aghaddin Mammadov (almost certainly an alternative spelling of, as in the earlier-cited SABIC innovations, "Aghaddin Mamedov"), Mike Huckman, Clark Rea, Xiankuan Zhang, Shahid Shaikh, Texas
Assignee: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Riyadh
Abstract: A method for making a syngas mixture is accomplished by introducing a gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen into a reactor containing a non-zinc catalyst. The catalyst contacts the gaseous feed mixture to form syngas mixture reaction products.
The reaction takes place in the presence of nickel-containing and/or iron-containing materials. The gaseous feed mixture is introduced into the reactor at a reactor inlet temperature of from 700 to 800 C, with the reaction being carried out at substantially adiabatic conditions or wherein the syngas mixture reaction products are removed from the reactor at a reactor outlet temperature of from 500 C to 600 C.
(The term "adiabatic" means, that, once the reaction is started, it isn't necessary either to add or to remove heat from it in order for it to proceed - keeping in mind that the reactants, the "gaseous feed mixture", must it seems first be heated to a range of "700 to 800 C". Further, we'll note that, at this point in full United States patent disclosures, pertinent "prior art" upon which the current innovation is in part founded is cited; and, among the specific prior art achievements cited by our subject is "United States Patent Application 20030113244 - Method for Producing Carbon Monoxide by Reverse Conversion with an Adapted Catalyst; June, 2003; Inventor: Rene Dupont, et. al., France; Assignee: Air Liquide", about which, as in our comments, we earlier reported.)
Claims: A method for making a syngas mixture comprising: introducing a gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen into a reactor containing a non-zinc catalyst that contacts the gaseous feed mixture to form syngas mixture reaction products, the reaction taking place in the presence of nickel-containing and/or iron-containing reactor components, the gaseous feed mixture being introduced into the reactor at a reactor inlet temperature of from 700 to 800 C, with the reaction being carried out at substantially adiabatic conditions, and wherein at least a portion of said reactor components are non-coated so that nickel-containing and/or iron-containing materials of the reactor components are exposed to said reaction.
The method ... wherein: the catalyst is an oxide of at least one of chromium (Cr) and copper-manganese (Cu--Mn).
(Note that all the above are specified, variously and separately, in our earlier-reported "United States Patent Application 20130150466 - Mixed Oxide Based Catalyst for the Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Syngas and Method of Preparation and Use"; and: "United States Patent 8,288,446 - Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 into Syngas Mixture".)
The method ... wherein: the reactor has a reactor outlet temperature of from 500 to 600 C (and) wherein: the reactor has a reactor outlet temperature of from 550 to 570 C.
The method ... wherein: the reaction products include carbon monoxide.
The method ... wherein: the carbon monoxide is present in the reaction products in an amount of from 10% to 20% by weight calculated after water removal from the reaction products.
(Noted that the initial RWGS reaction, to form Carbon Monoxide from Carbon Dioxide, doesn't seem all that productive. Keep in mind, though, that the RWGS does produce H2O, Water, as a co-product.)
The method ... wherein: the reaction is carried out (with) a reactor residence time of from 0.5 sec to 10 sec (and) wherein: the reactor components are stainless steel.
The method ... wherein: the feed gas mixture contains hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a molar ratio of from 1 to 5 (and) wherein: the reaction products include carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a molar ratio of from 0.1 to 3.
(The above claim yields something of a key to all of this. Adding Hydrogen to the Carbon Dioxide in the starting gas mixture in amounts in excess of what is needed to complete the RWGS reaction enables "tailoring", as it were, of the completed "Syngas" mixture, in terms of Hydrogen-Carbon Monoxide ratios, so that the resulting Syngas is suitable in composition for the immediate follow-on synthesis of a selected range of hydrocarbon fuels or chemicals.)
A method for making a syngas mixture comprising: introducing a gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen into a reactor containing a non-zinc catalyst that contacts the gaseous feed mixture in the presence of reactor components of nickel-containing and/or iron-containing materials to form syngas mixture reaction products that include carbon monoxide (and) wherein the reactor components are non-coated so that the nickel-containing and/or iron-containing materials are exposed to said gaseous feed mixture.
(Without including reference links, we'll note that "nickel" was the original catalytic metal employed more than a century ago by Paul Sabatier in his Nobel Prize-winning CO2-to-Methane process. As seen below, additional catalytic components are employed to prevent/limit Methane synthesis so that Hydrogen is conserved, and leaving Carbon Monoxide, in a blend with the un-reacted, excess Hydrogen, as the preferred product.)
The method ... wherein: the catalyst is an oxide of at least one of chromium (Cr) and copper-manganese (Cu--Mn)
The method ... wherein: the reaction is carried out at a ... residence time of from 0.5 sec to 10 sec (and) wherein: the feed gas mixture contains hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a molar ratio of from 1 to 5 (and) wherein: the reaction products include carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a molar ratio of from 0.1 to 3.
(Note, again, in the above claim, that the ratio of Hydrogen to Carbon Dioxide in the starting mix is controlled so as to achieve a desired ratio of Hydrogen to Carbon Monoxide in the product syngas.)
Background and Field: Embodiments of the present invention relate to the catalytic processes for producing a synthesis gas (syngas) mixture from carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
In the past decades, numerous processes have been developed to produce syngas, which is one of the most important feedstocks in the chemical industry. ... Syngas is successfully used as synthetic fuel and also in a number of chemical processes, such as synthesis of methanol, ammonia, Fischer-Tropsch type synthesis and other olefin syntheses, hydroformylation or carbonylation reactions, (etc.).
In order to ... help counteract increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere, research has been conducted to manufacture syngas from CO2 as a raw material.
Conversion of CO2 to CO by a catalytic RWGS reaction has been recognized as a promising process for CO2 utilization, and has been the subject of various studies in the past decades. Early work proposed iron oxide/chromium oxide (chromite) catalysts for this endothermic reaction ... . Disadvantages of these catalysts included methane formation and the accompanying catalyst coking problem.
While numerous catalysts and processes have been developed for the production of syngas from hydrogen and carbon dioxide, there is still a need in the art for new, distinct and often improved catalysts and processes for the production of usable syngas mixtures from carbon dioxide and hydrogen, where the catalysts and processes result in relatively high carbon dioxide conversions with minimal or no production of alkane (e.g. methane) byproducts and where the catalysts are stable and slow to deactivate even after extended on-stream times.
Summary: A method for making a syngas mixture is carried out by introducing a gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen into a reactor containing a non-zinc catalyst that contacts the gaseous feed mixture to form syngas mixture reaction products. The reaction may take place in the presence of nickel-containing and/or iron-containing materials. The gaseous feed mixture is introduced into the reactor at a reactor inlet temperature of from 700 to 800 C, with the reaction being carried out at substantially adiabatic conditions.
In certain embodiments, the catalyst is an oxide of at least one of chromium (Cr) and copper-manganese (Cu--Mn).
The reaction products may include carbon monoxide and the carbon monoxide may be present in the reaction products in an amount of from 10% to 20% by weight calculated after water removal from the reaction products. In some applications, the reaction products may include carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a molar ratio of from 0.1 to 3.
In certain applications, the feed gas mixture may contain hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a molar ratio of from 1 to 5, respectively.
In the processes according to the present invention, carbon dioxide is selectively converted into carbon monoxide by a reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction in the presence of a non-zinc redox catalyst under certain reaction conditions. The resulting product of this CO2 hydrogenation process is a gas mixture containing carbon monoxide and water, and non-converted carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
In carrying out the RWGS reaction, it should be understood that both nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe) have high catalytic activity for methanation reactions.
The formation of methane (CH4) or other alkanes byproducts is undesirable. Not only does methane production compete with and reduce the amount of syngas produced, the formation of such byproducts also correlates to coke formation. Coke and coke fragments can coat and foul both the catalysts and reactor components, shortening catalyst life and damaging reactor components.
(Note, in the above, that, if we wanted to make substitute natural gas Methane out of this CO2-based "Syngas", we could.)
As a result of this, reactors containing nickel and/or iron may be avoided in the production of syngas.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a process for the catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to syngas is conducted in the presence of a non-zinc catalyst, which facilitates the RWGS reaction. In some embodiments, the catalyst may be an oxide of metals with redox properties. In particular applications, the catalyst may be an oxide of chromium and/or copper-manganese. ... Other example of suitable catalysts having the desired redox properties are those based on a mixture of copper and manganese oxides. Such copper and manganese catalyst may be those provided on an alumina support (Cu--Mn/Al2O3). Both chromium and copper-manganese catalysts have been shown to be useful at both low reaction temperatures (e.g. 560 C) and high reaction temperatures above 700 C in RWGS reactions.
The above-described catalysts are used in a fixed catalyst bed of a reactor in a RWGS reaction in the presence of nickel and/or iron containing materials. The nickel and iron containing materials may include portions of the reactor vessel, such as the reactor vessel walls, or components of the reactor such as supports, trays, fittings, etc., which may come into contact with the reactants introduced into the reactor. Such materials may be in the form of steel or stainless steel. One advantage of the present invention is that the reactor components may be non-coated nickel-containing and/or iron-containing materials so that the nickel-containing and/or iron-containing materials are directly exposed. In this way, the need for specialized reactor materials is obviated, resulting in cost advantages. In certain instances, the presence of nickel and iron may be due to exposed nickel and iron in coated, lined or protected reactor components wherein such coatings, linings, etc. have either worn off or otherwise were not sufficient to prevent exposure of the nickel and iron materials to the reactants during the reaction.
The reactor vessel used for the reactions may be insulated or non-insulated and may be carried out at substantially adiabatic conditions wherein no significant heat input is provided to the reactor other than provided from ambient conditions and by the introduction of the reactants into the reactor at the specified inlet temperature.
The endothermic nature of the reaction allows the temperature in the reactor to drop to the selected reactor outlet temperatures specified above. Operation of the reactor at adiabatic conditions using the method of the invention, however, eliminates the need to supply heat to the reactor while at the same time reducing or eliminating methane and coke production. Such reaction conditions have been shown lead to a significant (3-10 times) reduction in methane formation, as well as the formation coke fragments, as compared to the same reaction conducted isothermally at mild temperature conditions (e.g. 560 C).
The reacting of the gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen with a non-zinc redox catalyst in according with the invention may be performed over a wide pressure range. A higher pressure tends to enable lower reaction temperatures, but very high pressures are not practical ...
The residence time within the reactor or contact time of the gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen with the catalyst according to the processes of the invention may vary widely, but is generally from 0.5 to 6 seconds. In certain embodiments, the residence or contact time may range from 1.5 to 5 seconds. In certain embodiments, the residence or contact time may range from 2 to 4 seconds.
The amount of hydrogen in the feed gas ... may vary widely (and, thus, the) H2/CO molar ratio (in the product Syngas) can vary within wide limits. The advantage thereof is that the syngas composition may be adjusted and controlled to match desired end-use requirements.
Such syngas product streams may be further employed as feedstocks in different syngas conversion processes, such as methanol formation (and) olefin synthesis ... .
In certain embodiments, the feed gas contains (specified relative) amounts of CO2 and H2 (which results) in a syngas composition ... which may be advantageously used in olefin or methanol synthesis processes.
The carbon dioxide in the gaseous feed mixture used in the processes of the invention may originate from various sources. In certain embodiments, the carbon dioxide may be provided from a waste gas stream, e.g. from a plant on the same site ... . Recycling such carbon dioxide as a starting material in the processes of the invention thus contributes to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere ... . The carbon dioxide used as feed may also at least partly have been removed from the effluent gas of the RWGS reaction itself and recycled back to the reactor in the feed mixture.
In preferred embodiments, the water formed in the reaction is generally removed from the product stream driving the equilibrium of the reaction in the desired direction, because water often interferes with subsequent reactions utilizing the syngas. Water can be removed from the product stream with any suitable method known in the art, e.g. condensation, liquid/gas separation, etc.
The invention may further include the use of the syngas mixture obtained with the processes according to the invention as feed material for a process of making a chemical product. Such processes may include methanol production, olefin synthesis (e.g. via Fischer-Tropsch catalysis)."
---------------------------
As far as the potential "methanol" product of this Carbon Dioxide recycling technology, keep in mind, that, as seen in our report of:
ExxonMobil Coal to Methanol to Gasoline | Research & Development | News; concerning both:
"United States Patent 4,348,486 - Production of Methanol via Catalytic Coal Gasification; 1982; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Claims: A process for the production of methanol from a carbonaceous feed material (by)gasifying said carbonaceous feed material with steam ... and added hydrogen and carbon monoxide (and) wherein said carbonaceous feed material comprises coal"; and:
"United States Patent 4,035,430 - Conversion of Methanol to Gasoline; 1977; Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation;
Abstract: The conversion of methanol to gasoline boiling products in a plurality of sequentially arranged catalyst beds comprising a dehydration catalyst followed by a special class of crystalline zeolite conversion catalyst";
Methanol, regardless of which of our abundant natural resources we make it from, whether, as in "United States Patent 4,348,486 - Production of Methanol via Catalytic Coal Gasification", Coal, or, as via the process of our subject herein, "United States Patent 8,551,434 - Method of Forming a Syngas Mixture", Carbon Dioxide, that Methanol can then be converted into the stuff we're already squandering too much of our foreign exchange to buy from Saudi Arabia, and the rest of OPEC, as it is.
Further, the products of the specified "Fischer-Tropsch" process, conducted with syngas made, as herein, from Carbon Dioxide, could include a full range of both liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, and more alcohols.
Again, an excess of Hydrogen is required for the process of our subject, Saudi Arabia's "United States Patent 8,551,434 - Method of Forming a Syngas Mixture", to, first, chemically reduce Carbon Dioxide, to form Carbon Monoxide, and, then, to be combined, blended, with the Carbon Monoxide in order to form the desired "Syngas Mixture". And, we remind you again, that, as seen additionally in our report of:
USDOE Renewable Energy Extracts Hydrogen from Water | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 8,444,846 - Method and System for Producing Hydrogen Using Sodium Ion Separation Membranes; 2013; Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, Idaho Falls, ID (USDOE Idaho National Laboratory); Abstract: A method of producing hydrogen from sodium hydroxide and water is disclosed (and, a) system of producing hydrogen is also disclosed. Government Interests/Government Rights: This invention was made under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Alberta Limited and Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE- AC07-051D14517, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government has certain rights in the invention. Claims: A method of producing hydrogen, comprising: feeding a first aqueous sodium hydroxide stream into an anolyte chamber of an electrolytic cell (and) wherein applying an electric potential to the electrochemical cell comprises supplying an electric potential to the electrochemical cell from at least one of solar power, geothermal power, hydroelectric power, wind power, and ... further comprising heating the electrochemical cell using heat produced from reacting the sodium and the waters";
we are getting pretty good at using one form or another of environmental energy to power the process of extracting elemental, molecular Hydrogen from plain old Water, H2O; which H2O would be reconstituted as water vapor when the hydrocarbon made from the Carbon Dioxide-based "Syngas" of our subject herein was combusted.
Folks, it's far past time we began to see Carbon Dioxide for what it actually is: A valuable raw material resource that can be reclaimed and then be utilized and consumed as the key raw material in processes that synthesize any and all forms of hydrocarbon fuels.
As we've warned before: Either we wake up to that fact, and someone in the public media scrapes together the internal fortitude to begin openly publishing the truth of it, or, we are all going to wake up one day in Coal Country when the windmill and the solar panels - - which we were forced to install when the old reliable Coal-fired power plant was shut down because of EPA carbon restrictions - - manage to screw up enough juice to get the television to flicker on, and, we'll watch as that first Royal Saudi tanker ship, full of liquid fuels synthesized from Carbon Dioxide, sails into New York harbor right under the nose of the Statue of Liberty.
And, getting back to our introductory comments, we really should pull on that new sweatshirt with the big red "L" emblazoned on the chest while we watch that broadcast - - kind of like we do on game day with our old high school or college sweats.
We'll all feel like real members of the national home team, the "USA Losers", then..
Does anyone reading this really want things to play out that way? Our prayers here are that no one does, and, that, someone able to do so, someone with a voice that will be heard and listened to, will speak up and out now.
We just might be in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.