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Why I'm not in Columbus


Mensan

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Wasn't this technology tested at Google hq as well? Congrats on the new job.

 

Yes, what I am working on is different. My role is the first of its kind at Bloom.

 

I actually understood some of that. My GF does R&D and manufacturing of fuel cells. Interesting, man!

 

:)

 

Don't forget to renew your tags!

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That's really cool and interesting what you're doing. Just curious, what is the amount of waste Carbon Dioxide like compared to more traditional ways of power production (burning fossil fuels, nuclear, etc...)? And is Bloom thinking about marketing a smaller, more compact unit that could power a single household?
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So did you have to get a hair cut for this gig? :lolguy:

 

Yep. :)

 

That's really cool and interesting what you're doing. Just curious, what is the amount of waste Carbon Dioxide like compared to more traditional ways of power production (burning fossil fuels, nuclear, etc...)? And is Bloom thinking about marketing a smaller, more compact unit that could power a single household?

 

The unit intakes methane (CH4) and oxygen. It chemically changes those items into water and carbon dioxide. For every carbon atom pulled out of the methane it has to release carbon dioxide. The hydrogen is converted to water. There is no combustion, so there is nothing else released.

 

I can't comment on a household unit as of right now.

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Yep. :)

 

 

 

The unit intakes methane (CH4) and oxygen. It chemically changes those items into water and carbon dioxide. For every carbon atom pulled out of the methane it has to release carbon dioxide. The hydrogen is converted to water. There is no combustion, so there is nothing else released.

 

I can't comment on a household unit as of right now.

 

A reaction using all the reactants of a combustion reaction, putting off all the products of a combustion reaction, but without going through a combustion reaction?

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So do you have to feed it methane and oxygen? If so how is the total cycle energy input per output, efficencey, compared to other types of energy production?

 

As I work in Energy Sales, of course I did some research into this when Eli first told me about it. He can answer this for the Bloom box in a more technical way, but just to give you some perspective, the markets where this is a feasible alternative have some similar characteristics; "dirty" power (as in, lots of fluctuations in the flow) from the grid, lack of redundant infrastructure, and expensive generation and transmission costs. The HEAT rate for a bloom box, near as I can tell, is about 10 cents per kWh. Here in the Midwest, where we have tons of generation and transmission, and not as much consumption, our prices from any alternative supplier are going to be between 5 and 8 cents per kWh. There are numerous other attractive things about this system that you could use as selling points; no distribution costs, can go off the grid, could sell back to the grid, pretty much never goes out, etc., but this will REALLY take off when the technology can get that HEAT rate down to about 7 cents.

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Are these Yttrium stabilized Zirconia Solid Oxide Fuel Cell?s (YSZ SOFC)

Very cool stuff, Back in College I had research programs investigating sulfur poisoning in them. at the time a completely un-explained phenomena. Have they fixed that aspect yet?

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So do you have to feed it methane and oxygen? If so how is the total cycle energy input per output, efficencey, compared to other types of energy production?

 

As I work in Energy Sales, of course I did some research into this when Eli first told me about it. He can answer this for the Bloom box in a more technical way, but just to give you some perspective, the markets where this is a feasible alternative have some similar characteristics; "dirty" power (as in, lots of fluctuations in the flow) from the grid, lack of redundant infrastructure, and expensive generation and transmission costs. The HEAT rate for a bloom box, near as I can tell, is about 10 cents per kWh. Here in the Midwest, where we have tons of generation and transmission, and not as much consumption, our prices from any alternative supplier are going to be between 5 and 8 cents per kWh. There are numerous other attractive things about this system that you could use as selling points; no distribution costs, can go off the grid, could sell back to the grid, pretty much never goes out, etc., but this will REALLY take off when the technology can get that HEAT rate down to about 7 cents.

 

Yep, that^^

 

A reaction using all the reactants of a combustion reaction, putting off all the products of a combustion reaction, but without going through a combustion reaction?

 

Yes. It doesn't put off all of the products of a combustion reaction. Carbon solids, for instance. Sulfur and Nitrogen oxides, for another.

 

Are these Yttrium stabilized Zirconia Solid Oxide Fuel Cell?s (YSZ SOFC)

 

Very cool stuff, Back in College I had research programs investigating sulfur poisoning in them. at the time a completely un-explained phenomena. Have they fixed that aspect yet?

 

They don't like the Mercaptan added to natural gas. It is removed. :)

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