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Water-powered cars?

Started by Stargate525, April 15, 2008, 03:17:18 PM

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Higgs Boson

#15
April 16, 2008, 04:29:45 PM
The Hydrogen 7 has almost no emissions.
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snakefing

#16
April 16, 2008, 05:35:20 PM
Until you count the emissions from the power plant necessary to manufacture the hydrogen in the first place.

A low- or no-emission vehicle is a good thing, because once you have that you can concentrate your efforts on improving a much smaller number of generating plants. But as long as the generating plants are still emitting, anything that uses power from those plants gets its share of those emissions.
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Ra-Tiel

#17
April 17, 2008, 01:39:44 PM
In my humble opinion, the car industry should optimize the hell out of the normal engines/car designs instead of already messing around with alternative engines.

One good example of how this could work is the Loremo, a car that can go for over 800 miles with 20 liters of gas (instead of like 450 miles with 50 liters like some "modern" cars).

snakefing

#18
April 18, 2008, 11:18:55 AM
I like the idea of highly efficient cars, but I'm not sure how we get to market acceptance. How high does the fuel price have to go before people will switch from their "safe" behemoths to an efficient, lightweight vehicle? I have no idea, but experience with gas price shocks in the past is not encouraging.
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SDragon

#19
April 18, 2008, 12:31:42 PM
Quote from: snakefingUntil you count the emissions from the power plant necessary to manufacture the hydrogen in the first place.

A low- or no-emission vehicle is a good thing, because once you have that you can concentrate your efforts on improving a much smaller number of generating plants. But as long as the generating plants are still emitting, anything that uses power from those plants gets its share of those emissions.


Not to mention, it's better for the environment to have emissions coming from the plant then it is for it to come from the vehicle, all else assumed to be equal.
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snakefing

#20
April 18, 2008, 01:01:22 PM
Quote from: Sdragon1984Not to mention, it's better for the environment to have emissions coming from the plant then it is for it to come from the vehicle, all else assumed to be equal.
That's true for NOx (smog/ozone) and particulates, since plants are usually located away from population centers that would be adversely affected.

For CO2 and SO2, it makes a lot less difference. CO2 affects the whole atmosphere, and acid rain affects large areas regardless of where the plant is.

Then too, all else is not usually equal. It is a lot easier to keep a few power plants well-tuned and maintained than it is for millions of vehicles.
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Haphazzard

#21
April 18, 2008, 04:49:05 PM
That's definately true.  How many people are driving cars that don't meet anything near the emmissions standard, but still use them because it's all they have/they don't care?  It's a lot easier to shut down a plant or two that are running too high than thousands of cars.

My question is, why aren't the big oil companies investing in alternate fuels and stuff.  They don't have to make them big, just put a foot in the door.  Nobody can deny that fossil fuels will eventually run out, so why not be prepared?  You know?
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Stargate525

#22
April 18, 2008, 08:11:57 PM
Quote from: HaphazzardThat's definately true.  How many people are driving cars that don't meet anything near the emmissions standard, but still use them because it's all they have/they don't care?  It's a lot easier to shut down a plant or two that are running too high than thousands of cars.

My question is, why aren't the big oil companies investing in alternate fuels and stuff.  They don't have to make them big, just put a foot in the door.  Nobody can deny that fossil fuels will eventually run out, so why not be prepared?  You know?
Because the current generation of executives know that it'll never run out in their lifetimes. Secondly, the majority of the members of OPEC don't have nearly the infrastructure or technological support that research into these things needs. For them, it's best to run the oil to its bitter end, several hundred years from now.
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snakefing

#23
April 21, 2008, 09:54:07 AM
Well, there's increasing evidence that we've reached the worldwide peak of oil production, or are close to it. (For example, the recent run-up in oil prices ought to stimulate more production but it hasn't, suggesting there isn't any spare capacity out there.) If true, this would mean increasing demand facing a smaller supply - and drastic price increases. Sooner or later this will make alternative technologies more attractive.

There is lots of oil out there still, but a lot of it is in oil shales and the like, which won't be economically viable until the price reaches a certain level. So we're not at risk of running out of oil for a while, but the era of relatively cheap oil may already be over.
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