talk753

chit chat
cars that run on water, compressed air...etc.
Bob Chen

The recent information on water/air powered cars led me to add my two cents worth of first-hand Toyota fuel cell powered Highlander experience. It was 2002, when Honeywell was working on fuel cells. We got invited to try out one of the 18 Highlander SUV's in their parking lot down the street. The internal combustion engine V-6 was replaced by a 90kw fuel cell battery hybrid electric motor and five graphite fiber wound liquid hydrogen cylinders @ 5000 psi. The Toyota engineer told us that it costs U. S. $ 4 million to build one, and people in L. A. can lease one for three years at U. S. $ 100,000. The drawback is you have to drive to Toyota Torrance for refueling @ U. S. $ 2.00 per gallon.
The liquid hydrogen came from electrolysis of water by solar panels atop the office buildings. The by-product oxygen gas was released into the air near-by as waste. No one suggested to give them to wino's downtown to sober up to become useful citizens. The five compressed liquid hydrogen cylinders at 5000 psi met DOT crash test requirements at freeway speed. The expensive part is extracting the 20% of oxygen in air to combine with the hydrogen gas from the liquid hydrogen to do the reverse of electrolysis and generate current (and water) for the electric motor. Needless to say the 80% of nitrogen from the air is dumped back into the air without trying to change them into fertilizers, or injecting into airliner fuel tanks to prevent electric sparks in the rich fuel fume/air vapor mixture. There was a TWA airplane leaving New York City in the '80s that killed 280 people from the mid-wing tank blow-up. Recently, FAA requires all new commercial airliners to have OBIGGS (on-board inert gas, nitrogen, generating system). May be some lighters can figure out a way to channel the 20% oxygen into the
recycled conditioned air back into the cabin? This act can make the stewardesses and passengers happy. Well, I have talked long enough on fuel cell cars, better stop before boredom creeps in.