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James Greyson

May 3, 2012
05:55

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Can you make hydrogen from methane?

Linda Beamish

May 3, 2012
05:55

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Yes Methane (CH4) is formed of one carbon molecule (C) and four Hydrogen molecules(H) - the Design Engineers are working on engineering designs which can capture the methane and break the Hydrogen off the Carbon Both are valuable resources - Carbon is completely inert when in its solid state - and can be used for Carbon-Fibre, Carbon Dog-Biscuits etc The designs are in infancy - but even using Methane itself as a BioGas is 23 times better than using fossil fuels & emitting CO2 - as methane is 23 times worse as an accelerant to the effects of climate change Hydrogen is the lightest & most widely available molecule in the universe - and there's no more Carbon than there ever was - it's been recycled around and around Earth since Earth herself was first born (Reference: Earth Science, College of West Anglia/Anglia Ruskin University - early 1990s + Building Studies at the same college in 2003) Also reference James - previously of Maglev UK + David (now PermacultureTravelling) plus Eugene Open Source Ecology + AD/BG & talking with other Design Engineers

Linda Beamish

May 3, 2012
05:57

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And thanks James - for tidying up my submission again this year and giving me a title!!:D

Brian Chow

May 8, 2012
10:33

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This is actually quite interesting. It's fairly well-known that free surfaces of iron in steel can catalyze the methane molecule at high temperatures into carbon and hydrogen - a process fundamental to the carburizing form of case hardening. Iron powder can be heated to its austenite transition (1674 deg F), whereby it can absorb up to 2.14 wt%C simply via diffusion. The high-carbon steel powder that's left behind can be used in steel making. Of course, strict control in keeping oxygen out of such an apparatus needs to be implemented.