HYDROGEN: ANOTHER SOLUTION TO THE ENERGY CRUNCH
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In MOTHER NO. 55, we told you about alcohol and its
potential as a fuel (see the Plowboy Interview, pages 16-24
and "The Alcohol-Gasohol Fuel Solution", pages 84-85).
Well, we sure haven't lost our enthusiasm for this
excellent renewable resource (take a look at our ethanol
follow-up article beginning on page 114), but we're also
excited about another source of
energy—hydrogen—which many folks feel is the
fuel of the future.
Recently, MOTHER sent a staffer and a photographer out
to Provo, Utah to talk to Roger Billings, head of the
Billings Energy Corporation. Between manufacturing computer
systems and doing hydrogen research, Mr. Billings is quite
a busy gentleman ... nevertheless, he took the time to
discuss the various aspects of hydrogen with us, including
its production and use as a fuel. The points he brought up
were interesting enough, but the equipment he demonstrated
was even more impressive ... since it provided us with
proof that hydrogen power isn't just yesterday's dream, but
today's reality!
Petroleum—though far from an ideal source of
fuel—is essentially the energy that our society runs
on. But, with the planet's supply of "black gold"
dwindling, alternative sources of energy must be developed
... and one of the most likely candidates for a substitute
fuel is hydrogen.
Although this light gas is one of the most abundant
elements on earth (plentiful in water and in both
fossil and nonfossil matter), it's rarely found in a
natural free state. Therefore, the fuel must be isolated
(which until recently involved a costly manufacturing
process), and the very economics of that
separation—plus the storage problems that hydrogen
presents—made the gas impractical as a fuel in the
past.
In the last decade, however, there have been many advances
in the hydrogen field, and—thanks to researchers like
Mr. Billings—this fuel is very near to becoming a
practical energy source.
WHY HYDROGEN?
Obviously, hydrogen isn't the only solution to our
"power" problems . . . but it does happen to be one of the
better ones. Since the gas is present in almost all matter,
our supply is virtually inexhaustible. In addition,
hydrogen is lightweight, non-toxic, and highly efficient as
a fuel (it has a high heat value of about 62,400 Btu's per
pound ... as opposed to petroleum oil with 19,000, and
natural gas with 22,500) and it can be substituted for most
fuels being used today. Even better, this plentiful energy
source is entirely nonpolluting (the only
by-product produced by burning hydrogen is water vapor, if
the combustion temperatures are controlled) and leaves no
residue.
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