The idea of us being able to toss our household kitchen compost into an hydrolizer on the hood of our car like in the movie, Back to the Future, might someday be a reality. Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) harness the electrons produced by bacteria as those bacteria feed on stuff like kitchen compost (referred to as “biodegradable material”). According to the MIT Technology Review, “The bacteria sit on an electrode–the anode–as they metabolize organic matter in an oxygen-devoid chamber. Not being able to react with oxygen, the electrons travel from the anode to the counter-electrode–the cathode–where they combine with protons to form hydrogen.” They report that researchers have made major strides in making this an affordable reality. The questions I have are:

A. How much hydrogen is produced per pound of kitchen compost?
B. Are some forms of kitchen compost better than others?
C. What about grass clippings - how does this perform?

I’m not sure if we’ll see flying cars in my lifetime, but this one concept might just get some wings.

I’ve been dreaming of having my own solar panels provide the electricity to run the electrolysis process to create hydrogen from water to power a fuel cell car. If I can pull this off, I can achieve energy independence in the transportation realm for my around town driving. I could do the same thing with a plan ‘ole electric engine as well. Is this a feasible dream for an individual or is it just in the domain of the big boys? There are folks already doing just that so it is technically feasible. But is it a viable consideration for an individual?

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is participating in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project. Ford and Daimler-Chrysler — provided the prototype cars — and BP, installed and operate the hydrogen station refueling equipment. The Future Energy Solutions of Air Products and Chemicals performs maintenance on the station.

The solar panels make electricity, which is then used to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis - an electric current is used to split water into its components — hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is then used to power the fuel cells that run the car. The attached picture shows the Ford Focus Fuel Cell car being used for the demonstration. Right now this is just for SMUD vehicles to test out.

How do Fuel Cells Work? Fuel Cells create electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen to make water. Batteries work by chemical combinations as well to create electricity. The difference is a battery has all the chemicals stored inside and eventually lose their charge. With a fuel cell, as long as hydrogen and oxygen are flowing into the cell, electricity is produced. The electricity is produced with the only bi-product of water.

Why the big fuss about fuel cells? Most electricity produced today is done by burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel supplies are not renewable, and because they will eventually run out, the price of fossil fuels is very unstable which creates power structures that cause adverse political and economic consequences for people who don’t own fossil fuel reserves. Additionally, the burning of fossil fuels to produce electricity and power our transportation, is implicated in the majority of global pollution woes and increasing global temperatures. Perpetually created solar and wind power can create most of our needs for electricity, but you need transportable power to run vehicles. Transportation is where fuel cells offer the most promise to solve many political, economic, and global pollution problems caused from over reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels.

The website - www.fuelcellworks.com provides an excellent summary of how fuel cells work.

What can we as individuals do? Electricity generated from solar and wind power can be used to separate hydrogen from water. This hydrogen can be used to power fuel cells in cars. When creating your own power generation systems, if you create a system that produces more electricity than you need to power your home, you can set up a system to create your own hydrogen to power fuel cells. On my property that is on a south facing hill in Northern Nevada, I can create about ten times more electricity than I need between solar and wind power. Stay tuned as I figure out just how to make this a reality.