Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : PEAK OIL - The New Y2K or The Beginning of the Real End? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mahatmabenfoo who wrote (735)	6/8/2005 5:32:34 AM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1183

Platinum-free catalysts for ethanol fuel cells to go commercial by 2006 Publication Date:31-May-2005 11:50 AM US Eastern Timezone Source:Electronics Weekly Low-cost, platinum-free catalysts for fuel cells running on ethanol, which were initially discovered during research into removing heavy metals from tannery waste water, should be inside commercial devices by the end of the year. Ethanol is an attractive fuel since it offers a higher specific energy than methanol, and is easier to handle. Italian manufacturer Acta said the Hypermec catalysts have already interested several large Far Eastern OEMs, and last week it announced an Asian distribution deal with a subsidiary of Japanese materials giant Sumitomo. The catalysts, which use iron, cobalt and nickel supported on a polymer, offer a number of advantages over existing platinum-based alternatives. The amount of metal required is comparatively low; they are effective at room temperature; and unlike platinum, the anode catalyst is not poisoned by carbon monoxide. Self-breathing ethanol fuel cells using Hypermec catalysts at 22°C have shown electrical efficiency of 42-45 per cent, and a power density of 65mW/cm2 at a voltage of 200-600mV. Maximum power output in a self-breathing cell was demonstrated at 142mW/cm2, achieved within four minutes of start up. “Twenty five per cent of customers want to reduce the amount of platinum [they have to use], and 25 per cent want to try platinum-free catalysts with [existing] methanol cells,” said Bert. “However, 50 per cent, mainly those that are lagging a little bit behind in fuel cells, are interested in platinum free/ethanol technology.” There are other benefits. The anode and cathode catalysts are selective for the specific reaction occurring at the particular electrode, so a simplified (unseparated) cell structure is possible. The catalysts are also effective with a wide range of fuels, including ethylene glycol and some solid fuels. The Co, Fe and Ni metal particles have an average diameter of 0.3nm, which Acta says compares with 5-50nm in typical platinum catalysts. The fine dispersion on the Vulkan polymer means that densities of 0.2mg/cm2 are required to give the same activity as 4.0 to 8.0mg/cm2 of platinum. fuelcellsworks.com

To: Mahatmabenfoo who wrote (735)	6/8/2005 1:25:17 PM
From: kryptonic6	Respond to of 1183

Somebody is nuts. I mean complete crackers -- lost it, no perspective, focusing on all the wrong things to the doom of the world. The following paper is several years old (circa 2001 I'm assuming) and seems increasingly relevant: Three groups of scientists, using different methodologies and data sets, have found that we may have as little as 35 years before our socio-economic systems destroy our life-support system. Moreover, global oil production could peak in as little as four years! Yet our political leaders are calling for even more of the same: "With the . . . plan for economic growth, our economy will achieve its full potential with 3.5 percent—or higher—growth per year, putting our country back on the right track and giving every American family the chance to achieve the American Dream." Does this sound rational to you? ..... Can irrational people sustain Democracy in a world that is now far over carrying capacity? In AN INQUIRY INTO THE HUMAN PROSPECT, Robert Heilbroner considered the damage that our economy is inflicting upon our life-support system and projected continuing (but gradually slowing) economic growth until approximately the year 2005. At that time, he sees the need for highly authoritarian governments to control the transition to worldwide economic decline [p. 2, Daly & Cobb, 1989]. So on the eve of our self-destruction, we find ourselves with socio-economic systems designed for a model of human that has never existed—led by people whose "mental system is failing to comprehend the modern world." Where will it end? "In the end," says the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky's parable, "in the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us,"'Make us your slaves, but feed us.'" . . . and then the meek shall inherit the Earth . . . *[Here I define "rational" as: "the ability to carefully weigh the important-known variables and make the decision most likely to achieve the desired end".] -Jay Hanson, "WHERE WILL IT END?", dieoff.org