Is the End Near? For fossil fuels?

Is the End Near? For fossil fuels?

In what is a cutting edge technology and a recent discovery.

Growing The Technology For Artificial Leaves

Daniel Nocera studying water-splitting catalysts. Photo by Donna Coveny, MIT.

Researchers are developing practical, low-cost materials that can use energy from sunlight to break water into oxygen and hydrogen. Daniel Nocera of MIT explains the science of 'artificial photosynthesis,' and describes his plan to create distributed power generation systems in developing countries.

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From lab to engineering at light speed..

I sure hope this can work out! Check it out..

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201104081
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20047814-54.html

If this global oil price bump isn't the one then the next or the next or the next. We need to be watching the Saudis. They have been very silent about their reserves and I suspect they are close to being unable to fill in global shortfalls without ruining their fields. Most people believe that a shortage of oil is simply the point where we don't have any any more. This is far from the case. What sets the stage for oil price is production and not reserves. If we require 8 million brls a day it doesn't matter how much is in the ground, what matters is how much can be pumped. Fields can be ruined by pumping too much too quickly and if that happens the recoverable amount is permanently reduced (of course unless there is a technological advance - but technological advances rarely come without a price of some sort).

No one is going to endanger their total production over time in order to pump more over the short term. When the Saudis decide that in order to cover global shortfalls they must pump more than is advisable then they simply won't do it. When they don't do it and no one else steps up (likely no one will, except perhaps some of the south American fields - which do not yield light sweet crude), then we will have a serious problem that does not actually involve running out of oil so much as running out of the ability to produce enough.

If I understand things we will get to a point that the easy to get oil will be done. That is when, I understand, the prices for oil will jump high.

Did you like the artificial leaf? Splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight.

The need is to separate the gasses so a fuel can be made.

There is a possibility of a liquid fuel of hydrogen and carbon dioxide mix.

But the idea of a practical production method of generating hydrogen from water is exciting.

I worked with alternative gaseous fuels for about a decade. This is one of the reasons I know what I do about global supplies and the dynamics. I had seen something before about direct cracking of water without electricity. Now the problem is density. Hydrogen is fuel that is not very dense and so in order to have the approximate energy equivalent of gasoline the hydrogen needs to be compressed to between 10,000 and 15,000 psi. THAT is nasty. I saw the effect of a carbon wound plastic container burst with only 600 psi and it was truly frightening. Another consideration is the fact that the hydrogen atom is very small and will find ways to migrate through all sorts of different materials. It has the effect of embrittlement. When metals are exposed to it under high pressures the metals become brittle. There are other methods than simple high pressure containment. There is a sort of "sponge" effect of certain spun metals but I don't believe they have gotten to the density of compression. There is also simply liquidizing the gas. This presents all sorts of problems surrounding the ultra cold.

From there, there are a couple of different methods to produce energy. The best of course is the fuel cell but the catalytic components of such a cell are very expensive and if no other method is found, the price will never go down because it is based upon the scarcity of a metal which would only get more scarce if it is put into widespread use.
Another is simply burning the fuel as we do now. I am certain that it will work well but the trials I was involved in were for Schwarzenegger's Hummer and later for a low heat signature vehicle for the Army. The power potential for these early vehicles was pathetic. If hydrogen is the answer, then something like your artificial leaf is the only way to get there.

Wow excellent post.

Maybe I can get your opinion on a liquid fuel of carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
That was mentioned.

It seems obvious that we have squandered a wealth of energy already and we are heading for rude reality.

What kind of water can it operate with? Saline? Fresh? Waste? I ask this because fresh water is becoming just as big of a concern as the energy crisis.

What I understand is just water..

Tesla had an electric car that ran on "Dark Energy", supposedly had no power source other than a small wooden box with vaccum tubes and wires in it. Tesla did not ever patent or even write down his ideas. Some of his assistants did.He died penniless in a flop house in New York. The entire world to this day relies on his invention of the AC Generator to provide power.

Certain accounts describe Tesla as having created Earthquakes in New York, teleportation of animals, Particle Beam Weapons, Dark Energy from the ethers of space. weird science.

Ernst said:

Wow excellent post.

Maybe I can get your opinion on a liquid fuel of carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
That was mentioned.

It seems obvious that we have squandered a wealth of energy already and we are heading for rude reality.

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I know nothing about co2/H fuels. Yes, we have squandered a wealth of energy and raw organic material. Oil is simply too valuable to simply burn even though the energy density is the highest of any conventional, liquid at room temperature fuel. We have never paid the total cost and or the total value of this stuff and when we finally do it is going to be hell for all of us. One of the reasons we have 6 billion (or whatever the number is) people on the earth is because we support them with energy taken from beneath the ground. We are the only organism that metabolizes energy other than that from food or light, we through our machines turn ancient sunlight into civilization. There is no magic bullet and there is no convenient alternative. Western civilization is still deluding itself into thinking that we are in some sort of movie and at the last moment everything will be better.

What we need is a portable liquid high energy density fuel. It has to be renewable. The closest we have to that is biodiesel and ethanol. Ethanol is a poor second but biodiesel is quite close. There are problems with this stuff as well. The feedstock can be any oil bearing seed and there are many that will grow in marginal land but it will require LOTS of land. Oil bearing algae is great but it requires great ponds of water that are exposed to sunlight. Imagine AZ as one great shallow skim pond. That might produce enough oil to cover our imports. The problem with biodiesel is that it has a limited temperature range where it is a liquid. It tends to crystalize at lower than 55 degrees. It also tends to grow biological contamination at higher temperatures.

So, other than that, and the experiments with converting algae directly into petro - we got nothing except wind, solar, hydro and nuclear. Oh, and then that is that natural gas. Good stuff but it isn't very energy dense and it isn't portable. I have a friend who has a natural gas car. You never know exactly how much fuel is in the vehicle. Different pumping stations pump differing amounts of fuel, the Gage is a very rough estimate. The tank takes up his entire trunk. Now imagine all of our powered machinery being fueled by such a thing. A chain saw? An edger? a generator?

NoDrama said:

Tesla had an electric car that ran on "Dark Energy", supposedly had no power source other than a small wooden box with vaccum tubes and wires in it. Tesla did not ever patent or even write down his ideas. Some of his assistants did.He died penniless in a flop house in New York. The entire world to this day relies on his invention of the AC Generator to provide power.

Certain accounts describe Tesla as having created Earthquakes in New York, teleportation of animals, Particle Beam Weapons, Dark Energy from the ethers of space. weird science.

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Pretty far fetched

So was the idea that the Earth was round at one point. Such is all science, or anything for that matter, that is not understood.

@canndo Nice post again.. I like Tesla and the myth of Tesla myself but that was a 90.

I had never heard of Co2+hydrogen as a fuel until today.

I believe we should be managing energy resources to last 1000 years.
That we are consuming as such a rate that we can see the end of cheep energy in a life time is completely profane.

We support the concept of private property and are at war on public wealth.

My Mother told me there was a chance at one time of a nation wide public transport system of trains and trams but the "automotive industry" and the "Military" convinced congress to build highways for cars.

What is your view of 300 years from now on energy?

Nuclear Fusion would be the preferred method if they could just get the process to start. Imagine being able to create your own tiny star. Many times more energy than a chemical process such as burning Fossil fuels.

canndo said:

Pretty far fetched

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Until you actually start reading it sure does sound that way. The more you read the more you become suspect of what you have always been told.
Contemporary biographers of Tesla have regarded him as “The Father of Physics”, “The man who invented the twentieth century” and “the patron saint of modern electricity.”

Originally hired By Thomas Edison, within 1 year Tesla had achieved things even Edison thought impossible. Eventually he quit Working for Edison and they had a huge falling out. JP Morgan funded Tesla for many years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_energy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

http://www.firetown.com/blog/2010/10/01/forgotten-heroes-nicolai-tesla/


He invented AC electricity, Neon Lights, Radio transmission, The Electric motor, Wireless electricity transfer, Remote control, Hydraulics, Lasers, Space weapons, Robotics, and many, many more things.

[video=youtube;XRf0UFgJymU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRf0UFgJymU&feature=player_embedded#at=157[/video]

Boonierat said:

So was the idea that the Earth was round at one point. Such is all science, or anything for that matter, that is not understood.

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There are funamental differences between believing the earth is flat and believing that tubes and wires in a black box a century ago produced earthquakes.

canndo said:

There are funamental differences between believing the earth is flat and believing that tubes and wires in a black box a century ago produced earthquakes.

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Wow, where did you get that a small box created earthquakes? The small box powered a car.
http://waterpoweredcar.com/teslascar.html
http://www.keelynet.com/energy/teslafe1.htm

Ernst said:

@canndo Nice post again.. I like Tesla and the myth of Tesla myself but that was a 90.

I had never heard of Co2+hydrogen as a fuel until today.

I believe we should be managing energy resources to last 1000 years.
That we are consuming as such a rate that we can see the end of cheep energy in a life time is completely profane.

We support the concept of private property and are at war on public wealth.

My Mother told me there was a chance at one time of a nation wide public transport system of trains and trams but the "automotive industry" and the "Military" convinced congress to build highways for cars.

What is your view of 300 years from now on energy?

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I am sorry to say but in 300 years we will be burning wood on the ruins of a once great civilization and telling stories to our children about the Gods who flew through the air and had power beyond all imagining. The end of cheap energy is closer than a lifetime away. I fear it will be much much sooner and try as I might I have not figured out a way to prepare for it myself.

NoDrama said:

Wow, where did you get that a small box created earthquakes? The small box powered a car.
http://waterpoweredcar.com/teslascar.html

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What is the theory behind the device?

Dark energy. Which is Basically what is making the universe expand, it makes up 70% of all the mass in the universe. Tesla was able to harness it and transmit the power wirelessly from Wardenclyff tower 20 miles away. It cost nothing to produce or transmit, it was free energy.

So he knew how to harness this energy even though he didn't know quantum physics, and conveniently, the knowledge is lost to modern man. NoDrama, it is a wonderful story but about as likely as the 125 mile per gallon carburetor.