TL&DR summary: hydrogen as a fuel is a zombie idea. Thermodynamics and the properties of the molecule ensure that it will never be alive in economic terms. Hydrogen’s dirty present hasn’t meaningfully changed over the last 20 years, and hydrogen as a fuel isn’t a real decarbonization idea. However, while it will never be alive, […]
Tag: decarbonization
Electric Heating- the Future of Industrial Heat
This article is a summary of my series of posts about electric heating: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_for-the-next-while-im-going-to-make-periodic-activity-7230286694044852224-ntuR?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_post-2-about-electric-heating-residential-activity-7230648442459447299-wdnK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_electric-heating-3distillation-somewhere-activity-7231015287548960769-5N6U?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_electric-heating-4medium-temperatures-activity-7232761271262015488-a7x6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_electric-heating-4aimmersion-heaters-every-activity-7233844691836747776-osxJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_electric-heating-5very-high-temperatures-activity-7234187728098115584-VcsH?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_spitfire-research-activity-7234548501643190273-oDCe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_electric-heating-6bmore-high-temperature-activity-7234947655750053888-Ocqt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-martin-195763b_electric-heatingfinal-thoughts-its-clear-activity-7236112474733735936-MXfw?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Some people have it in their head that there’s no way to make heat other than via fire. The reality is more complex. The reason we use fire to make heat is that […]
Home Heating-Electrification?
UPDATE 17/08/2024: major updated costs and analysis Warning: this article contains a lot of numbers. Numbers that tell a story. If you don’t like numbers, stop reading and spare yourself arithmetic anxiety. It should not be news to you that people in Canada need to heat their homes. Some of us also need air conditioning […]
Ammonia- “Ship of Fuels”? or Fuel of Fools?
image credit: Microsoft Create TL&DR: ammonia is a toxic and corrosive gas, and using it as a fuel aboard ships fails the 1st principle of safety in design. It is an insane idea, and those pushing this toxic idea should give their heads a serious shaking. I am a chemical engineer with many decades of […]
Where Does Green Hydrogen Fit?
Image credit: Google Gemini If you know my writing even a little, you’ll know where I stand on this issue. It’s as simple as my meme, but my many articles (especially this one) explain why, in detail. Those articles come with analysis and references and the comments of many experts in the field as an […]
Yes, Virginia, Solar Really is THAT Cheap!
TL&DR Summary: yes, it really is that cheap. It’s not bullshit. It’s real. And it’s going to power the world. Well, not the whole world- but a very significant part of the world. Those of you who read my articles will know that I have a small farm east of Toronto. We’ve built a couple […]
The Refinery of the Future
photo credit: Google Gemini TL&DR: we will continue to refine petroleum to make the chemicals and materials we need in a decarbonized future. We’ll just do it without the burning. It will be complex, expensive, and will take a new kind of refinery which looks quite different than today’s refinery. You’ve no doubt heard the […]
The Primary Energy Fallacy
The Primary Energy Fallacy- or, Committest Thou NOT the 2nd Sin of Thermodynamics! TL&DR Summary: if anybody starts talking to you about “primary energy” in a discussion about decarbonization, please punch them in the mouth. Energy is like currency- there’s an exchange rate between heat (chemical energy) and work (electricity)- they are not worth the […]
Why Direct Air Capture (DAC) Sucks- and Not in a Good Way!
UPDATED August 8, 2023 You’ve likely heard the sales pitch before: What am I talking about? Direct air capture- the act of using active mechanical/chemical equipment and vast quantities of renewable energy, in a totally pointless fight against entropy, to try to suck CO2 out of the atmosphere for either durable burial or “use”. You’ve […]
E-Methane: Exergy Destroyer, On Steroids
TL&DR: grinding up electricity to make heating fuel is just a way to waste energy and capital, by destroying exergy (the potential to do thermodynamic work). It’s obviously worse than just making hydrogen. It is wasteful, and wasteful means expensive. It also means higher emissions than if you did something sensible, like feeding a heatpump. […]