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A comment on Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel. Parent comment

Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by stephengillie on Wednesday April 04, 2012 @01:30PM (#3798692)
This is a ceramic furnace as large as a washing machine, as heavy as a Honda Civic, that needs to be 6 times hotter inside than their home stove/oven/range, and the fuel (ZnO) is safe to eat in small quantities (breakfast cereal) but is toxic(?) to breathe.

I'm having trouble seeing why it would take long for a startup to start baking the clay for one of these in every home.

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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by Someone on Wednesday April 04, 2012 @01:50PM (#3798816)
Zinc boils at just over 900 degrees centigrade. I guess that might make this a bit risky as a device. If, as you say, Zinc in gas form is toxic, that might be a problem.

Two by three feet and 10000 suns translates to "on a perfectly sunny day, needs a 200 by 300 feet solar collector" to produce the required heat. Actual numbers for a machine operating throughout the year will be quite a bit higher.

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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by knieveltech on Wednesday April 04, 2012 @04:13PM (#3799610)
Speaking from experience (DIY foundry mishap involving brass), even small amounts of airborne zinc fumes are sufficient to knock a healthy adult flat on their ass for four days with superflu style symptoms.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by stephengillie on Wednesday April 04, 2012 @01:58PM (#3798862)
While the goal of the project was to create a 100% renewable energy source based on sunlight, another energy source could probably be used.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by sliverstorm on Wednesday April 04, 2012 @06:52PM (#3800287)
This is a heat engine. Your options for renewable heat are mostly geothermal or solar.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by alexchamberlain on Thursday April 05, 2012 @05:18AM (#3801881)
The question is... if we connected the hydrogen to a fuel cell, is it more efficient than a steam generator?
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by sliverstorm on Thursday April 05, 2012 @11:34AM (#3803012)
I am skeptical. Large steam generators are very, very good.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by sliverstorm on Wednesday April 04, 2012 @06:53PM (#3800292)
If I was breathing 900C+ zinc gasses, I don't think its toxicity would be anywhere on my radar of concerns at the moment.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by colanderman on Thursday April 05, 2012 @12:25PM (#3803297)
Nitpick: 3.6 times hotter than a home oven, not 6. Fahrenheit is not a linear scale, you must subtract absolute zero (about -460°F) from measurements (or convert to Kelvin) before computing ratios.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by sliverstorm on Wednesday April 04, 2012 @06:55PM (#3800306)
Nitpick, the modern Civics weigh about 2600-2800lbs, so it's about 70% of a Civic. Certainly the right order of magnitude though.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by pbhjpbhj on Thursday April 05, 2012 @06:55AM (#3802060)
There's something ironic in you nit-picking about a 'modern' weight measure and then giving an answer in pounds (lbs).

2700lbs is ~1200 kg

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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by colanderman on Thursday April 05, 2012 @12:28PM (#3803315)
Nitpick: kilograms aren't a measure of weight.
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Re:Self-sustaining solar reactor creates clean hydrogen fuel by pbhjpbhj on Thursday April 05, 2012 @03:43PM (#3804253)
Lol, got me. Massive error on my part.
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