The bloom box

[HHO BLASTER]

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[RustyLugNut]

It comes down to cost. Can they cut the cost of the system to make them viable to the larger market. Platinum catalyst use needs to be cut. Catalyst poisoning needs to be minimized to make unit lifespans workable with the natural gas fuels.

They are not the only ones who are working on this, so it will be these small fish against the established companies.

[HHO BLASTER]

it comes down to cost. Can they cut the cost of the system to make them viable to the larger market. Platinum catalyst use needs to be cut. Catalyst poisoning needs to be minimized to make unit lifespans workable with the natural gas fuels.

They are not the only ones who are working on this, so it will be these small fish against the established companies.

rustylugnut, where are you getting platinum into the picture, i

think you need to see it again, he never said he would use platinum, it cost to much, he said he would use a special cheap metal

[RustyLugNut]

Platinum is used in just about all the high performance fuel cells in development. The Holy Grail of fuel cells is to replace the use of platinum with much cheaper catalysts. With out that replacement catalyst, there are many technologies that minimize the need for platinum to the point it becomes less worrisome to the overall cost.

By the size of the power brick he held up to show what was needed to power the average American home, my guess is that he is pursuing the course of minimal platinum deposited on cheaper substrates as the energy density of that size brick would be difficult with lesser catalysts. There are now compounds that are comparable to platinum in electrode performance, but they exist only in labs at this point.

[RustyLugNut]

In reviewing the video link, a couple points jogged my memory and lead me to believe Bloombox is not using a traditional low temperature fuel cell.

The mention of migrating oxygen ions through the electrolyte as well as the use of gaseous hydrocarbon fuels points to the Bloombox as being a form of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell.

SOFC's come with their own set of problems, heat being one of them. However, the problems are more in the realm of applied engineering and more doable than being a research exercise. If the inventor has found a common catalyst that reduces the need to run the SOFC stack at the usual 500 - 1000 deg C, he could really make a run at being the first to market. The fact that he has attracted a big name investor who is sure to have a science and technical review team before any monies are release leads me to believe he has something here.

[HHO BLASTER]

In reviewing the video link, a couple points jogged my memory and lead me to believe Bloombox is not using a traditional low temperature fuel cell.

The mention of migrating oxygen ions through the electrolyte as well as the use of gaseous hydrocarbon fuels points to the Bloombox as being a form of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell.

SOFC's come with their own set of problems, heat being one of them. However, the problems are more in the realm of applied engineering and more doable than being a research exercise. If the inventor has found a common catalyst that reduces the need to run the SOFC stack at the usual 500 - 1000 deg C, he could really make a run at being the first to market. The fact that he has attracted a big name investor who is sure to have a science and technical review team before any monies are release leads me to believe he has something here.

Good, glad were now on the same page i wish him well.

Been thinking if it's DC OUT, OF COURSE IT HAS TO BE, COULD IT BE USED

TO MAKE A HYBRID CAR, CHEAP FUEL, TO DC TO ELECTRIC MOTOR AND WOULD IT BUY ANYTHING

COULD THE CAR NOW USE A CHEAPER FUEL THEN NATURAL GAS HE TALKS

OF OTHER FUELS. .... IS NOT TOTALLY CLEAR WHAT KINDS OF FUELS THIS

WILL RUN ON AND HOW OTHER FUELS WOULD BE USED

[RustyLugNut]

You give yourself too much credit.

[RustyLugNut]

Good, glad were now on the same page i wish him well.

Been thinking if it's DC OUT, OF COURSE IT HAS TO BE, COULD IT BE USED

TO MAKE A HYBRID CAR, CHEAP FUEL, TO DC TO ELECTRIC MOTOR AND WOULD IT BUY ANYTHING

COULD THE CAR NOW USE A CHEAPER FUEL THEN NATURAL GAS HE TALKS

OF OTHER FUELS. .... IS NOT TOTALLY CLEAR WHAT KINDS OF FUELS THIS

WILL RUN ON AND HOW OTHER FUELS WOULD BE USED

DC is what fuel cells output. And yes, they have tried them in vehicles but the long start up time (around 1 hour) of traditional SOFC makes them impractical for vehicular use outside of long run heavy lift carriers. Even with micro channel technology, the SOFC still takes minutes to start up. It would be applicable to a hybrid however. I am aware of several autos that use such a configuration - electric drive with a fuel cell power unit.

It can consume most gaseous hydrocarbons. The news clip mentions landfill gas. Just as long as you strip out the sulfur which degrades the catalysts. SOFC also are capable of running on liquids such as alcohols.

[Roland Jacques]

Hi Blaster, That Bloombox sounds pretty awesome. It will be interesting to follow. Do you know the date of that broadcast?

[HHO BLASTER]

Hi Blaster, That Bloombox sounds pretty awesome. It will be interesting to follow. Do you know the date of that broadcast?

Sure i do, it's SUNDAY FEBRUARY 21 2010 LAST SUNDAY AT 7PM ON CBS