Could Chicken Feathers Be The Salvation Of Hydrogen?
Unless you are a vegetarian, you probably agree that chicken is delicious. But could this fowl have a future in automobiles? According to a presentation made at the 13th Annual Green Chemical and Engineering Conference this weekend…maybe. It seems that carbonized chicken feathers can hold hydrogen quite well; better than carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides currently being tested as hydrogen carriers. Could this solve the infrastructure problems currently holding hydrogen technology back?
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The concept was presented by University of Deleware Engineering graduate student Erman Senoz. It works like this; chicken feathers are made up of a natural protein called keratin. This forms hard, hollow tubes (if you’ve ever plucked a feather, you know what I’m talking about) that when heated creates crosslinks. This in turn strengthens the structure, becomes more porus, and increases the surface area. These carbonized feather-tubes can hold as much, if not more than the much-more expensive carbon nanotubes or metal hydrirdes.
According to the Happy News article, a 20 gallon nanotube tank would cost upwards of $5.5 million, and a similar sized metal hydride tank in the area of $30,000. Chicken feathers are abundent and cheap, and Professor Richard P. Wool estimates it would add just $200 to the price of a car. Where he got those numbers, I’m not sure, but right now I am about ready to believe anything. First pee-power, now chicken feathers? You’ve got to admire the ingenuity of some of these alternative fuel mavericks.
Wool also estimates that a 75 gallon tank full of hydrogen and carbonized chicken feathers could currently travel about 300 miles, but they are working to improve that range. That is only 4 miles per gallon, but hey, its hydrogen, the most abundent resource in the universe. It’s a start if anything.
Hydrogen gas takes up about 40 times as much room as petrol, and as a liquid it needs to be kept very cold, resulting in high pressure tanks (10,000 psi sometimes). This means that while we have the technology to utilize hydrogen as a propellent, it is difficult to transport. It currently takes about 20 gallons of hydrogen gas to go a single mile. But perhaps chicken feathers can change all that? Will there come a time when we will say “Mm, my fuel tastes like chicken…”
I’ve got a great solution for using nanoscale, self-assembling machines that use solar power to extract hydrogen from water and then combine the hydrogen with carbon for an even greater energy density than the chicken feathers! Better yet — the carbon source is plain old CO2! In other words, this miracle solution actually could reduce green house gasses!
Now, there is a downside, which is the total efficiency (going from sunlight to energy released when using these “hydrocarbons” (as I like to call them)) isn’t that great. But, this process is based on very cheap, abundant, nontoxic chemicals. Plus, these “hydrocarbons” are easy to store (at room temperature no less!), transport, and are relatively stable. So even though the efficiency appears low, the overall economics of the process are very appealing. It will just take a few more years to work out the production technology and drive it to scale, but the outlook is very positive!
Huge math flaw here folks. NOT 4 mpg. A 75 “Gallon” tank does not hold 75 gallons of hydrogen, since it is a gaseous fuel. Just look at a CNG car trunk to understand. A CNG Honda Civic uses a 26 “gallon” liquid capacity tank that holds 8 “gasoline gallon equivalent” gallons of CNG. Same with hydrogen. The Honda Clarity tank is about 45 “gallon” liquid capacity and holds 4 gasoline gallon equivalent capacity of gaseous hydrogen. So this 75 gallon tank noted in the story above likely holds ~ 6 KG of hydrogen, equivalent to 6 gallons of gasoline, or 50 MPG… not 4 MPG as stated above. Honda is near 300 miles range @ 60 MPG and Toyota over 300 range with their hydrogen vehicles. It does NOT take 20 gallons of hydrogen gas to go a single mile, a major fowl error by the author.
Cars of a feather, flock together.
Please no one call fowl on this.
If a 75 mile gallon tank is only good enough for 300 miles, at least in my mind, that is still 4 MPG…
Not a math guy. Not by a long shot. But a 75 gallon tank is freakin’ HUGE, and it goes only 300 miles. I mean hey, its only hydrogen, but at the end of the day that is a lot of room that could otherwise be used for…seating? trunk space? Hell, you’d basically be driving a giant fuel tank.
But, I appreciate the knowledge bomb just dropped on me anyway. You sound like you know what you’re talking about.
LOL Erman Senoz and his professor Richard Wool are a great example of how stupid we have become. Not only we have a real problem with the concept of compassion for other species. Are we never going to stop using and exploiting other living beings to fulfill the needs of our useless society. The turks came up with a great concept, but we have to come up with the idiotic twist. We are doomed!
WEEEEEEEEEEll chris. If gazz wuz $8.00/G and h2 was almost free or say 50 cent /G - and no carbon emission (am I way off price wise) - give it a few years. For me the space penalty could mean more beer/pizza/ better air to breathe etc etc. —The article with the huge math flaw is a prime example of someone with a journalism degree who maybe took a few intro. engineering courses trying to write something like a technical article.. (Am I way off here.)–Maybe they are working for the robber barons. thats eltom not helltom
75 gallons for one mile? Give me a break, dude. If you are wanting to be a professional writer you have to get your facts straight….in fact, 75 gals of hydrogen could probably send your pig-iron SUV a mile high in the air………that would be fun.
The chickens look cute hehe
I’ve got a cheap if not outright EZ way to get make liquified H2. 10,000 PSI is about 742 atmospheres is about 5000′deep if I recollect from my Marianas trench diving top secret NASA/NAVY/G DSV/UFO/USO days. It would take no more energy to run an electric current 5000′ down in the water than it would sideways. If I had the G connections or I was politically correct I could get a multi multi million dollar donation going to build something that could be done for a few thousand to hundred thousands. Pull up the USO and filler up pls Gieves-don’t bother w the window i’m in a hurry.
But seriously there are vast deposits of methane ice at those depths that need to be used (they are a ticking time bomb now). Anybody got a big gas guzzling boat they’ed like to run on methane -we could make many fortunes and save the world and maybe even save our own isotopes.