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#101 2023-03-10 14:47:02

tahanson43206
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Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: EV charging revolution

For Mars_B4_Moon re #100

Picking up on this line:

maybe a carbon monoxide fuel cell for Mars

That is a startling idea (from my perspective) and definitely interesting, considering how many posts are in this forum about an internal combustion engine using carbon monoxide and oxygen on Mars.

Did you just think of it, or have you seen that idea published somewhere?

(th)

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#102 2023-03-10 14:51:03

Void
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Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,975

Re: EV charging revolution

Maybe what you want is this, for Hydrogen and CO especially.

If there is an enzyme that works for Hydrogen and then there should be one that works for CO and Oxygen, and Mars has those in its atmosphere, already made, and perhaps renewable.

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-green-tec … 0Geobacter.

There are microbes that Eat Hydrogen and CO from the Earth's air.

I have been searching for a long time for a method to utilize that resource on Mars.

https://newatlas.com/biology/air-eating … ica-artic/
Quote:

In 2017, the UNSW researchers discovered bacteria in Antarctica that gained their energy from a new source – the air itself. In low-nutrient soil, these bugs instead pull hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide out of the air around them, allowing them to thrive in environments where there’s very little other life. This phenomenon is known as atmospheric chemosynthesis.

And now in a follow-up study, the team has found that this ability may not be limited to Antarctica. The researchers found that the two genes previously linked to atmospheric chemosynthesis are abundant in soil in two other similar environments – the Arctic and the Tibetan Plateau.

They don't seem to say it, but these microbes also eat Hydrogen and that is how they get water in cold dry deserts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mars
Quote:

General information[2]
Average surface pressure    610 Pa (0.088 psi; 4.6 mmHg; 0.0060 atm)
Mass    2.5x1016 kg[1]
Composition[3][4]
Carbon dioxide    95%
Nitrogen    2.8%
Argon    2%
Oxygen    0.174%
Carbon monoxide    0.0747%
Water vapor    0.03% (variable)

That amount of CO in Earth's atmosphere would be deadly, I think.  So, it is more than is here, as likely microbes eat it here.  This may suggest that microbes of that type do not live on Mars in abundance.  There is more Oxygen on Mars than CO, but there is both.

Mars almost certainly has Hydrogen in its atmosphere as well.

But if we were to inject water vapor up to high altitudes on Mars, then we might bump up the amount of Hydrogen and Oxygen in the Martian atmosphere.

So, if we could tap into that energy supply, Mars would be a giant solar collector, powered by hard radiation and UV light.

It would be available at all times.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2023-03-10 15:00:33)


Done.

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#103 2023-03-11 06:25:00

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: EV charging revolution

tahanson43206 I was going over old threads and vids and using the air of Mars, carbon dioxide, molecular nitrogen, argon, trace levels of water , oxygen, carbon monoxide, making biofuel using biology to its best use the soil and other hydrogen carbons. There was a lot of talk of Earth technology improvement on Methanol fuel cells, new methods of charging and Batteries, AFCs, Phosphoric acid fuel cells, nickel-cadmium battery, Molten carbonate fuel cells, lead acid battery, Solid oxide fuel cells, dry zinc-carbon battery, PEM fuel cells.

There was a post about using bacteria and there is a strain of E. coli bacteria that can consume carbon dioxide and turn it into energy,  bacteria becoming biological factories for energy and food stuff and eating CO2 instead of sugars.

quote
Escherichia coli a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli
E. coli's metabolism can be rewired to solely use CO2 as the source of carbon for biomass production. In other words, this obligate heterotroph's metabolism can be altered to display autotrophic capabilities by heterologously expressing carbon fixation genes as well as formate dehydrogenase and conducting laboratory evolution experiments. This may be done by using formate to reduce electron carriers and supply the ATP required in anabolic pathways inside of these synthetic autotrophs

I know many have wrote about using resources on Mars and I don't know if it can be done or was done maybe some chemist and engineer has it figured out already

Here is an older link I came across

Scientists intensify electrolysis, utilize carbon dioxide more efficiently with magnets
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 … 091356.htm

Through CO2 electrolysis, converts it into value-added chemicals and intermediates -- like ethanol, ethylene, and other useful chemicals.

Some other news back on Earth

there is a political push for clean hydrogen

2023 Key considerations for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindu … 023-03-02/

Fully electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be key players in the nationwide and industrywide effort to cut emissions. In the transportation sector, light-duty vehicles and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles hold the top two percentage shares of current transportation emissions of 49% and 21%, respectively.

The Biden administration has established ambitious greenhouse gas emissions-reduction goals for both types of transportation, including deploying 500,000 EV chargers and increasing the percentage of new medium- and heavy-duty zero-emissions vehicles sold to 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2040. Achieving these emissions-reduction goals, however, will require those in the industry to consider and address a variety of commercial and legal issues.

More than 800,000 EVs were sold in the United States in 2022, which was nearly 6.0% of all vehicles sold.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-11 06:37:37)

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#104 2023-03-11 07:29:07

tahanson43206
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Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: EV charging revolution

For Mars_B4_Moon re question about Carbon Monoxide for Fuel Cells....

Thanks for your follow up with extensive research of both the archive and Internet sources...

And thanks to Void for pointing out that Hydrogen is a likely requirement for a fuel cell, and there needs to be a supply of hydrogen if the fuel cell depends upon it.

It seems to me (as I read these two posts) that a mechanism to generate electricity by harnessing the "desire" of Carbon Monoxide molecules to collect the "missing" Oxygen atom might be possible, but if any work has been done in that specific area, I didn't see it.

A mechanical Carbon Monoxide engine would consume CO as fuel and Oxygen as oxidizer.  The power output is modest compared to fuels that contain hydrogen, but the supply of raw material is large, the material is available everywhere on Mars, and solar power can be used to separate CO from Oxygen.  For those reasons, I expect that some machinery will employ the CO/Oxygen reaction on Mars.

However, a fuel cell version of such machinery would have advantages over mechanical devices, such as no moving parts, no need for lubricants, and direct delivery of electricity instead of having to use the middle-man of a generator if electricity is desired.

Back on the first hand, if raw force is needed, a mechanical engine would appear likely to be the better choice.

This topic is about EV charging, so I hope the Carbon Monoxide fuel cell idea of Mars_B4_Moon will pick up in a topic better suited for it's development.

Here is a topic where contributions about a Carbon Monoxide fuel cell would be welcome:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 53#p207353

(th)

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#105 2023-03-11 13:23:49

SpaceNut
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Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: EV charging revolution

While we can recycle the exhaust many times the source energy to re-gather and process them back to the initial format required to make use of in a fuel cell is the issue.

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#106 2023-04-30 13:54:48

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: EV charging revolution

Reading back over the start of the topic it was proposed that the road could not only provide the surface to drive on but to provide the means to charge the vehicle as one would drive along its path. Sweden plans to build world’s first electrified motorway

These modes of doing this have been explored

Three ways to electrify road
Officials have not yet decided which method of charging will be used on the electrified road, though they have three options to pick from.

The first is the catenary system, which uses overhead wires to provide power to cars on the road, which would be most suitable for buses or trams.

An inductive system, the second option, buries equipment underneath the road which sends power to coils fitted to the electric vehicle, charging the vehicle as it passes along the road.

Thirdly, the road could rely on conductive charging where electricity is sent wirelessly to a metal plate on the electric vehicle, not unlike charger pads for mobile phones.

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#107 2023-05-20 15:26:35

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: EV charging revolution

Leaders announce 878-mile binational electric vehicle corridor

will stretch from Kalamazoo to Quebec City, Quebec, which officials said will be the first binational electric vehicle corridor.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to announce the corridor featuring DC fast chargers about every 50 miles.

There are only 25,181 electric vehicles registered in Michigan compared to 6.5 million vehicles with internal combustion engines. It’s unclear how many chargers have been installed so far, and who’s paying for them. The Center Square has reached out to government officials with those questions.

However, EV owners don’t pay gas taxes to fund roads. An Anderson Economic Group study estimates that from 2019-2021, Michigan roads lost out on $50 million in state gas tax because EVs charge instead of filling up at the pump. With EVs representing between 15% to 25% of new vehicle sales statewide by 2030, EVs could cost the state $95 million a year by 2030, with a total deficit of up to $470 million.

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#108 2023-12-03 12:29:33

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: EV charging revolution

Wireless EV charging road opens for testing in Detroit

AA1kVgSW.img?w=534&h=300&m=6

This major milestone is all part of the partnership between the City of Detroit, MDOT and Electron  – an Israeli Company known for developing and providing wireless charging solutions for electric vehicles.

Testing of the wireless charging technology will begin in 2024 with a Ford E-Transit electric commercial van. Staff will determine efficiency and operations along with long-term public transportation opportunities.

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#109 2024-01-23 08:33:01

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: EV charging revolution

This Is Why Building An Efficient EV Charging Network Is Almost Impossible

Building an extensive EV charging network is no easy feat, and various obstacles are standing in the way. This article will explore three key factors that make creating an EV charging network nearly impossible. The high cost of building charging infrastructure and the need for easy and accessible charging options are key hiccups here. But the most important is the limited availability of critical materials like copper and lithium used in EV batteries and infrastructure.

This makes building an extensive EV charging network financially challenging. This would make a serious dent in companies and governments operating on tight budgets.

In addition to the cost of building charging infrastructure, there are ongoing maintenance and operating expenses. Charging stations require regular upkeep and repairs, which can be costly, especially for fast charging stations used frequently.
The cost of electricity is another factor that can affect the affordability of EV charging. In some areas, the cost of electricity during peak demand times can be significantly higher, which can deter EV owners from charging their vehicles during those times.

Despite these challenges, efforts are underway to reduce the cost of building and operating charging infrastructure, such as partnerships between public and private entities and using renewable energy sources to power charging stations.

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#110 2024-01-23 10:55:54

Calliban
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From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,352

Re: EV charging revolution

SpaceNut, I wonder if the situation would be better if we transition to compressed air vehicles instead of battery-electric?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed-air_car

Back in 2020, a prototype was able to achieve a 140km range and a roundtrip efficiency of 74%.  We would need to scale up generating capacity just as much using compressed air.  But the distribution pipework and charging infrastructure will be made from steel and synthetic rubber.  The pressure tank in the vehicle would be glass fibre wound around a carbon steel liner.  This idea at least does not present us with any unsustainable materials problems.  If we corrosion protect the steel pipes and avoid heavy pressure cycles, they should last for a very long time.  Same with the glass fibre tanks.  They should last for the life of the vehicle.

Last edited by Calliban (2024-01-23 10:57:42)


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#111 2024-02-25 09:33:17

SpaceNut
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Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

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