Why isn't this more publicized. My understanding of refining is now expanding. So how do they get around the benzines and other various volatile compounds?
^This. That's the part that the media and leaders don't consider; they never analyze anything but run with a "next best thing" mentality. That said, I do like the idea of hydrogen being a fuel but it would have to be more of a JIT, localized-stations situation rather than large facility that distributes it.
The government is looking for energy solutions that they can easily tax. Notice how many municipalities uses CNG to run busses and garbage trucks, but CNG isn’t readily available to the public? Infrastructure has been in place for decades, but it’s use for transportation has been hampered by government intervention.
The advantage to gasoline is it contains a lot of energy for a given mass and it is very portable. What other energy storage method would easily work in vehicles? Lithium batteries work in automobiles but not so well in airplanes, but they are hard to manufacture. To replace gasoline we need a new source that is portable and easy to generate. On the surface it seemed to me that Hydrogen could do that- current internal combustion engines can be modified to use it, it is easy to create if you have electricity, but storage is the problem. It is hard to get enough of it in an automobile to give reasonable range, and would be difficult in airplanes as well. What we need is a magic liquid that we can synthesize by inputting electricity and that will burn cleanly in an engine.
I was really thinking in a bigger picture. As of today there is not substitute for liquid fuels for operating airplanes so if we run out of petroleum then we travel everywhere by ground transportation. It is yet to be seen if we can run all automobiles without petroleum. So is there an option other than battery power? We can make hydrogen now, we can run cars on it now. My father used to run his shop vehicles on butane, I know a large scale farm operation that runs their many irrigation machines from normal natural gas. They have converted gasoline engines and diesel engines to run on natural gas.
Ahhh, yes, the wonderful Chevron deference. So glad to see it is finally being addressed and ripped out by its roots.
Internal combustion is inherently inefficient, using more of the stored energy to create heat than perform work. Electric motors on the other hand are super efficient. A better method of storing electricity is the future in my opinion. Light weight, solid state batteries with high capacity will solve this debate once and for all if they can get there.
In theory the energy density of solid state batteries will be 10 times current lithium cells. That's approximately 2200lbs shaved off that hummer battery for the same range or load it to the same current weight and have a 3300 mile range (I'm guessing it would be somewhere between the 2). I'm guessing within the next 10 years we see EVs that weigh closer to their current ICE counterparts AND have 750-1000 mile ranges.
And I hope you're correct, but again these are "in theory", need to see it in reality. What substrates and minerals/elements are required of these solid state batteries? What abundance does the earth have of them? How much energy input is required for said energy output...??? Honestly asking I am not informed on the topic as of yet...
I'm no expert, but the prototypes I've read about still use lithium, approximately 10-15 times less than current lithium ion cells. I don't think we are going to find the miracle fuel that has 0 limitations or drawbacks, but going from burning gas which is at best 20% efficient to electricity which is up to 90% efficient seems logically better however we get there to me.
