MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 66,854
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Red October!
Where is the compressor on a submarine?? They may just have a storage tank that's filled in port!
Seems on excersise's them fuel cell subs are hard to find despite that noisy compressor. And then there's rumours the nuclear powered types need pumps for heat dissipation.
Now I surely know little about fuel cells or submarines but your comments indicate your in the same position!
Do you think there will be a "new" way to store hydrogen ?
Thermal power plants creating hydrogen or supplying power to charge batteries is not an advantage.
Where are you going to find the energy storage density to power plains, trains and automobiles for more than 1-2 hours at a time then spend 5+ hours for a full charge without over heating the battery pack?
Red October!
A diesel sub not operating gas compressors will be quieter than a diesel sub operating compressors. Any diesel sub rigged for quiet running will be quieter than a nuc sub even with the reactor scrammed. That reactor core has a lot of decay heat to dissipate even if on convection cooling. The stored hydrogen and oxygen used in the fuel cells when operating below the surface has to be replaced. Hence burning diesel to operate a generator to power the Electrolysis process , compress the gasses and cool the gasses.
Indications are that the Sub's refuel when in port. No hydrogen production on board. Hydrogen is stored in external tanks to separate from Crew's Quarters.
What is the sub supposed to use for power when below snorkle depth when the H2 and O2 tanks are empty? A fuel cell sub would only be useful for patrol around a country's own domestic coast within the sight of land. A diesel/battery sub can recharge anywhere and go anywhere.
That's actually not the case, power plants can get better efficiency because they have a couple things that work in their favor vs internal combustion engines.
The biggest issue is waste heat, in a car you have to dump it via your radiator. However in a power plant they can have a massive heat exchanger that can capture it and use it to generate more power. Conservation of energy means that your car cannot be as efficient as a power plant that captures heat(fun fact 1 gallon of gas has ~33.4kWh so most EVs run on 1-3 gallons of gas to 100-300 miles).
Secondly cars need to work across a wide range of power bands, however a generator can sit at a single RPM and optimize for that specific band. So you'll lose some power due having a requirement to function at different speeds.
Those two things combined mean that quite a few plants exceed 50% efficiency where cars top out around 35%.
Also we have a ton of hydro up here in the PNW so we already have a nice source of cheap clean energy.
... Kinda like the mentality of saving money buy buying stuff on sale for stuff that not needed and saving yourself right into bankruptcy...
Electric cars, electric trucks, electric field tractors and electric airplanes won't work for extended periods of time becuase the energy storage is not dense enough.
Electric cars, electric trucks, electric field tractors and electric airplanes won't work for extended periods of time becuase the energy storage is not dense enough.
Diesel fuel tank -- hydrogen fuel tank
Each fill their respective prime movers as required. Each bulk tank is refuelled as required.
Both the diesel and the hydrogen would have comparable fuel delivery systems, just use different fuel.
If the car can make 200 miles/charge it will work for me. Our round trip to the town is about 100-120 miles three times a week. So green or not green it makes financial sense for us.
Now the weight , cost and complexity of multiple fuel systems. Even that super duper fuel cell 212 submarine counts on lead acid batteries to move faster than trolling speed.
Compare a new Chevy Sonic with ICE with the Sonic they call a Bolt that is battery powered. What is the difference in up front purchase price plus a level 2 charger. How much is saved over 5 to 8 years. Don't want to keep the electric past the end of factory warrenty. What is the trade value of the Sonic and the Bolt at the end of 5 or 8 years ?