There are plenty of cars out there today that either are Hydrogen Powered completely or have a very convenient Hybrid engine system enabling them to be powered by both alternate and conventional fuel sources. One of the major hindrances for Hydrogen powered cars in USA has been found to be the lack of sufficient filling stations as compared to Europe. Stats tell you that Europe is a lot more Hydrogen friendly and hence the more the cars that run on hydrogen fuel. So how about turning human waste in to car fuel to encourage the hydrogen powered wheels?
The Orange County Sanitation District is about to begin converting human waste into hydrogen fuel in a first-of-its-kind attempt to turn sewage into a salable product. The district, along with UC Irvine researchers and private companies, has agreed to install the new device in an $8 million demonstration project that could begin operating by May. The Sanitation District has used methane gas from sewage to power its systems for years. The new device, built by Air Products of Pennsylvania and Fuel Cell Energy of Connecticut, takes this much farther: it will use methane to provide three separate streams of energy.
The project’s biggest hurdle at the moment is its cost. The price tag for energy produced by the new device, once installed, is $4,000 to $5,000 per kilowatt, while typical internal combustion engines that power the Sanitation District plant cost about $1,000 a kilowatt. Testing the new system at the Sanitation District should give its creators a sense of how well it will do in the broader market. It is unlikely that we will ever run out of human waste and if our treatment plants can double up and work as fillings station, then all the more better. If this project comes off well, then expect the technology to spread around.
Via: ocregister
