Corn Cob CNG tanks?
TENILLE BONOGUORE
Globe and Mail Update
February 20, 2007 at 11:18 AM EST
Farm waste has been turned into a high-density gas tank that could unlock the secret to methane-fuelled cars.
Using the waste material from corn cobs, researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City have created carbon briquettes that use tiny complex pores – called nanopores – to store natural gas in unprecedented densities.
The methane storage system is slim enough that it could replace gasoline tanks in cars and encourage mass-market natural gas automobiles. Methane is an abundant fuel that burns cleaner than gasoline.
The technology is already being used in a pickup truck used regularly by the Kansas City Office of Environmental Quality, and principal project leader Peter Pfeifer says the breakthrough could revolutionize vehicle design.
“We are very excited about this breakthrough because it may lead to a flat and compact tank that would fit under the floor of a passenger car, similar to current gasoline tanks,” Dr. Pfeifer said.
The carbon briquettes are made from cobs left over from kernel harvesting. The state of Missouri alone could supply the raw material for more than 10 million cars per year, the researchers say.
“It would be a unique opportunity to bring corn to the market for alternative fuels – corn kernels for ethanol production, and corncob for natural-gas tanks,” Dr. Pfeifer said.
The carbon briquettes can store natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and a pressure of only 3,450 kilopascals, which is the same pressure as natural gas pipelines.
That could mean the end of cumbersome high-pressure tanks that currently keep gas at 24,800 kPa and can fill up an entire car trunk.
The test pickup truck, part of a fleet of more than 200 natural-gas vehicles operated by Kansas City, has been in use since mid-October and the researchers are monitoring the technology's performance, from mileage data to measurements of the stability of the briquettes.
The briquettes are the first technology to meet the 180-to-1 storage-to-volume target set by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000.
Globe and Mail Update
February 20, 2007 at 11:18 AM EST
Farm waste has been turned into a high-density gas tank that could unlock the secret to methane-fuelled cars.
Using the waste material from corn cobs, researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City have created carbon briquettes that use tiny complex pores – called nanopores – to store natural gas in unprecedented densities.
The methane storage system is slim enough that it could replace gasoline tanks in cars and encourage mass-market natural gas automobiles. Methane is an abundant fuel that burns cleaner than gasoline.
The technology is already being used in a pickup truck used regularly by the Kansas City Office of Environmental Quality, and principal project leader Peter Pfeifer says the breakthrough could revolutionize vehicle design.
“We are very excited about this breakthrough because it may lead to a flat and compact tank that would fit under the floor of a passenger car, similar to current gasoline tanks,” Dr. Pfeifer said.
The carbon briquettes are made from cobs left over from kernel harvesting. The state of Missouri alone could supply the raw material for more than 10 million cars per year, the researchers say.
“It would be a unique opportunity to bring corn to the market for alternative fuels – corn kernels for ethanol production, and corncob for natural-gas tanks,” Dr. Pfeifer said.
The carbon briquettes can store natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and a pressure of only 3,450 kilopascals, which is the same pressure as natural gas pipelines.
That could mean the end of cumbersome high-pressure tanks that currently keep gas at 24,800 kPa and can fill up an entire car trunk.
The test pickup truck, part of a fleet of more than 200 natural-gas vehicles operated by Kansas City, has been in use since mid-October and the researchers are monitoring the technology's performance, from mileage data to measurements of the stability of the briquettes.
The briquettes are the first technology to meet the 180-to-1 storage-to-volume target set by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000.
Views: 160
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Coyote Ugly on
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Any comments? Is this gonna help the cause for shalers?
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Permalink Reply by Snake Stewart on
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It certainly appears to answer one of several big questions surrounding the viability of mass CNG vehicle production. Actually 2 of several quetions. Tanksize and increased travel distance between refueiling.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on -
Good question, Grice. I had not thought much on the subject as everything I have read to date states that CNG is considerably safer as a vehicle fuel as it will not pool. I disperses and dissipates rapidly. Certainly doesn't solve the question of combustion during an accident but appears to be safer than combustible liquid fuel.
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Permalink Reply by Grice on
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http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/general/t-cng-honda-civic-car-fireex...
While this is not the results of a crash, it does show the comparison between CNG and gasoline vehicles.
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Permalink Reply by intrepid on
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I wonder how that fire was ignited. None of the pics I saw had any explaination about that.
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Permalink Reply by Grice on
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"The group of cars were set of fire by an arsonist."
I posted that link, just to show the potential for danger, should a NGV be involved in an accident which could rupture the fuel tank. I would think, with proper external protection, cases such as what were demonstrated could be reduced, if not avoided completely.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on
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Grice. Looks bad. But I notice no details on the nature of the fire. A crash was not mentioned. If the Civic has not been moved from the site of the fire, in these photo images it appears to be a parking lot. Do you know anything about www.cleanmpg.com or the entity behind it?
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Permalink Reply by Grice on
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I do not know much, other than they focus on electric vehicles, more than NGV. In doing so, they are likely not the be friendly towards NGV's, in order to further their own agenda.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on
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I was thinking along those lines as I have not heard or seen anything similar. If there was a serious safety risk involved with CNG vehicles I would expect it to be highly publicized by now. Heck, I can't even tell if it's a Civic GX from the images. CNG as a vehicle fuel holds so much promise on so many levels. I hope there is no fatal flaw involved with the concept.
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Permalink Reply by Grice on
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I think, with the proper installation, maintenance and safety devices in place, NGV would be a great asset towards our nation's future. I, like you, hope that we do not focus just on the positives, and overlook any of the negatives.
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Good discussion guys.
Several things that may help shed a little light on this subject can be found thru the LGA Small Operators Master Meter Seminar which I have attended and certified numerous times.This info is derived at by way of pipeline safety but should hold true for the most part with LNG as well.
When discussing the flamability of natural gas you have the advantage of its "lighter then air" specific gravity of less then 1. Air has a specific gravity of 1 and this is what they use for the standard by which everything else is measured. Being lighter then air , it will quickly dissapate into the atmosphere. Butane has the bad rep due to its specific gravity rateing of more then 1 and will collect lower to the ground making it much more dangerous then N/G from an explosion standpoint.
Because it dissapates , there are 2 levels by which concentrations in the air are combustible.The flammability range for N/G concentrations is between 5% and 15%. Anything below 5% there isnt enough gas. Anything above 15% there isnt enough air. The auto ignition temperature is 1100`F, making the ideal conditions for explossion quite difficult to attain, while not impossible of course. -
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