1. Until now … CO2 Pollution:
We can slow it down, but we’ve never been able to turn it around.
Until now …
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

2. CONFIDENTIAL TRADE SECRET All rights reserved 2010 Eric Schmidt
The power of Wind and chemistry can eliminate CO2 from any exhaust.
Best of all, it recycles CO2 from any source into our most efficient fuel: natural gas and leaves behind only water.
CONFIDENTIAL TRADE SECRET All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

3. Wind Energy Storage & CO2 Recycling
Eric Schmidt
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

4. Energy Storage for Wind Turbines
Mechanical (pumped hydro, compressed gas, stored gravity, etc)
Electrical (batteries, load leveling schemes, etc)
Chemical? (but not batteries) ? ? ?
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

5. Chemical Storage Concept
It’s not difficult.
Find a convenient ENDothermic reaction, and add energy to raise it to a potential EXOthermic reaction.
Presto. Stored energy waiting to be released.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

6. Combustion
In general, we don't burn gasoline, wood, oil, or natural gas ... H H H H ( ) C C C C C H H H H H O H X H H H H
Methane CH4
Propane C3H8
Wood CH2O
We burn HYDROGEN. It is HYDROGEN that gives the energy and the leftovers that give the pollution.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

7. Storing Energy in Hydrogen? Well, that’s problematic
It seems that hydrogen might be a good material to store energy in.
In fact, the answer is both yes and no and each lie in its energy density.
A kg of Hydrogen has 3 times the energy of gasoline, but hydrogen's volumetric energy density is pathetic.
In fact, hydrogen has to be compressed to 5000 psi to have the same volumetric energy density as gasoline.
This presents serious problems in transporting hydrogen.
Energy density by weight
(MJ/kg)
Energy density by volume
MJ/ L
HYDROGEN gas at STP
GASOLINE
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

8. Storing Energy in Hydrogen
Since Hydrogen is the smallest molecule in creation, storing hydrogen is a bit like storing BeeBees in a chicken-wire sack. Containers tend to leak.
Further, storing ionized hydrogen in steel causes hydrogen embrittlement.
So it doesn’t take too long to figure out that if hydrogen is to be stored, it won't be as H2in either gas or liquid form.
That's okay. There are lots of options:
NH3 (ammonia)
C6H6 (benzene)
CH4 (methane aka natural gas)
H3NBH3 (borane- a promising alternative) and many others.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

9. Methane is KEY METHANE CH4 CO2 + 4H2 CH4 + 2H2O
We would benefit greatly from an effective energy storage plan. However, hydrogen gas or liquid is clearly NOT the answer.
I could discuss the benefits of storing hydrogen in ammonia, borane and others but I'll cut to the chase that provides probably the best business case:
Consider the following simple reaction:
METHANE CH4
CO2 + 4H CH4 + 2H2O
Ie, if we could provide the hydrogen, we can turn carbon dioxide into natural gas!!!
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

10. Today’s Hydrogen Production
Hydrogen is highly reactive and does not occur in nature except as attached to other elements, so we have to extract hydrogen from something else.
Essentially 100% of today's hydrogen is produced from the following reaction:
The reaction is called pyrolysis (aka the Haber process). That is, shoot methane with high pressure, high temp steam and produce a poison, CO. Cook that a little more and you'll get CO2, the greenhouse gas.
Half of our hydrogen production goes to make ammonia, most of which turns into fertilizer and the other half is used by refineries to crack hydrocarbons like coal and tar into better fuels. (take a crummy fuel, add some extra hydrogen and you get a better fuel. Sound familiar? See slide 3.)
CH4 + H2O H2 + CO
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

11. Understanding Hydrogen
Remember our national energy policy of stalling on currently available technologies for cars in favor of waiting for hydrogen fuel cells to come of age?
Even when we get effective fuel cells that can store and burn hydrogen entirely cleanly, where would we get the hydrogen?
Right. From natural gas and producing CO2. So what is the difference between a hydrogen car and a natural gas car? Environmentally and energy wise, nothing.
So, why energy companies don't convert CO2 to CH4?
We don't have the available free hydrogen!
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

12. And VESTAS comes in.
But VESTAS can produce large quantities of hydrogen for the price of wind, and they can turn that nasty greenhouse gas into methane for the price of water.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

13. Business Plan
What industries are the biggest creators of carbon dioxide?
Natural gas and coal powered electric power plants
Aluminum production (2Al2O3+ 3C +enormous amts of electricity Al2 + 3CO2)
Hydrogen production via pyrolysis.
All produce LARGE quantities of these gasses and will be charged accordingly in an age of carbon offsets.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

14. Business Plan
A natural gas power plant burns methane, CH4 and exhausts CO2 and CO.
If the power plant captures or diverts that golden CO2, and gets it together with a Vestas Modern Energy (Hydrogen production) plant, they can turn that CO2 and CO and turn it into CH4.
There is a business case for this just in flipping Carbon credits but it pays on both sides. We get paid well for taking their greenhouse gas exhaust and we turn it full circle into a clean, efficient fuel whose sale would likely be subsidized with Alternative Energy Credits!
VESTAS Hydrogen Production plus energy for CO2 conversion
METHANE
CH4
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

15. Converting CO2 to CH4
The process typically runs at about 80% efficiency.
Paul Sabatier got a Nobel prize in 1912 for this process and at least one business is using it today. In the late 1990s, NASA gave the Jet Propulsion Laboratory a contract to develop a Sabatier Reactor for installation on Mars. It would allow a spacecraft to fly to Mars carrying only hydrogen for its return trip.
It would use that hydrogen to convert the CO2 atmosphere into methane and oxygen to use as fuel for a return trip. The project was canceled, but a creative guy (K.R. Sridhar) decided to run the reactor in reverse to generate electricity.
That company is now called Bloom Energy and was featured on 60 Minutes in Feb Ebay, Google & Walmart are some of its pilot users.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

16. Vestas Energy Storage Business Model
Bloom Energy is trying to move electricity off the Grid.
Energy Storage Vestas business model is trying to move electricity onto the Grid by making Grid energy carbon neutral. So Vestas would want to run the process forward as Paul Sabatier designed.
Further, a Sabatier reactor was installed in the ISS in the summer of 2010 to eliminate the CO2 and provide water that was not recycled urine. The astronauts are quite happy about that. Prior to that, CO2 was dumped overboard (inefficient! Get rid of the C and use the O2!) and copious amounts of water were schlepped to the ISS and electrolyzed to produce the reqd O2.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

17. Sabatier Reactors
But don't think that Sabatier reactors are elaborate machines for a space program. They are simple flow through devices containing plates or beds made of nickel/alumina/ruthenium.
CO2 and H2 gas at 300 to 350 deg C flow through at space velocities of about 10,000/hr. Ie, a 1 L reactor would process about 10,000 L of gasses/hr (apx 1/3 sec in reactor). Sabatier reactors are simpler and less expensive than the catalytic converter on your car.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

18. Business Case
If Bloom Energy can make a business case for building and running Sabatier reactors at apx 25% efficiency, odds are excellent that there is a good business case for building and running them at 80% efficiency.
Imagine the media frenzy that can be generated with this. “Wind energy recycles greenhouse gas into fuel… saves world”. Public opinion could drive policies to force this process. There aren’t nearly enough wind turbines in the world yet to recycle all the exhaust from power plants, but we’d love to get there.
Recycling the exhaust is a lot more economical than sequestering/capturing and indefinitely storing the CO2.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

19. How the Business Case will really work
(The most efficient way is not quite the way I’ve described it so far …)
Marrying free hydrogen and hot CO2 to produce methane is the task.
You have 3 options. You can:
Truck the CO2 to the wind farm and return the trucks with methane; or
Truck the H2 to where the CO2 is (think electric power station);
OR …
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

20. How the Business Case will really work
Transport your electricity to the CO2. Simply put 100% of your grid compliant wind power onto the grid. That means that the power station will have excess power. What do you think they will do with their excess power and CO2 but – make H2 from water and mix it with their only slightly cooler exhaust to make methane (which goes right back into their furnace while they use less of their purchased, high pressure methane or coal).
Wind farms continue to make energy as before with no change in infrastructure – except that ALL the grid compliant electricity is sold to the grid. That roughly TRIPLES the return of existing WTGs and gets rid of CO2 and balances power of power stations. Not bad for 100 year old technology.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

21. The byproduct O2 will also improve combustion efficiency.
Counting energy in the combustion equation:
CH4 + O > H2O + CO2
Energy In = 1000 BTU/ft3 Energy out = 100 BTU/ft3 Net: 900 BTU/ft3
The Low heat value is the heat lost by heating the components of the combustion like the H2O, CO2 and the always present N2 (78% of our atmosphere) to combustion temperatures.
Injecting O2 (byproduct of electrolysis if that is how the H2 is made) into the furnace displaces some of the inert N2 and slightly improves combustion efficiency and increases flame temperature (apx 25% using pure O2 in adiabatic conditions).
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

22. Energy Storage & CO2 Recycling
So the title of this presentation could have been:
GRID
Wind
Energy Storage & CO2 Recycling
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

23. Sound like too much Holy Grail?
Anything this profound should start with some healthy skepticism.
However a prototype has been made for the Renewable Energy industry by DRI (Desert Research Institute) in Reno, NV and presented in Feb 09. They made a 1 liter demo reactor, but they propose to recycle the newly created methane into an engine as supplemental fuel. Ie, take a gas engine’s exhaust plus H2 from renewable sources like wind or nuclear (?! just quoting), and make methane to reuse as engine fuel. They do not appear to get the potential of balancing power at an electric generating station.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

24. Just how simple is a Sabatier Reactor?
It’s a catalytic converter just like the one on your car except that it has 2 inlets (hot CO2 + N2, and H2), one outlet (CH4 and N2) and a drain for the water produced. Inside are plates coated with nickel, alumina and/or ruthenium if you want a lower reaction temp. Reaction is exothermic at -167 kj/mole.
The manufacturer for the coated plates that were used on the ISS is right next to NASA in Houston. Simple, pretty cheap and easily demonstrated and it will transform our energy landscape.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

25. The Numbers for the business case
Hydrogen can be produced by electrolysis at a reasonable 77% thermal efficiency at about 24 kwh/lbH2. That means that a ton of H2 requires about 48,000 kwh. One ton of H2 makes 8 tons of CH4 so 6,000 kwh makes a ton of CH4 at 100% eff & 7500 kwh/ton CH4 at 80% eff.
Due mainly to Barnett Shale, the US natural gas price is currently low at a price of about $4.1/MMBTU= $4.1/1000 ft3=$153/ton CH4. (sanity check: 7500 kwh* $.02/kwhr=$150/ton CH4. ok)
By the end of 2010 there were 197 GW of wind capacity installed worldwide producing (at 25% capacity factor) 430 TWhr of electricity. That’s a notable accomplishment except that the majority of the electricity made by wind turbines is thrown away because the electric companies don’t need the electricity (eg at night). If we use all the electricity made by the wind, capacity factor would be easily 60%. That 35% difference is 600 TWhr/yr of electricity and represents 80 MILLION tons of methane ($12 Billion/yr!)!! From energy that would otherwise be thrown away!!
From the perspective of the wind farm, selling its additional power at $.02/kwhr* 600 TWhr/yr =$12Billion! With $.015 subsidy that becomes $21Billion! That’s equivalent to $107,000/yr/ installed megawatt more return which equals an additional 7.7% return on the $1.4M/MW of a WTG.
ref Hydrogen Manufacture, by Electrolysis, Thermal decomposition, and unusual techniques, Knowledge Publications, page 125.
+\][=-p09\][p584’][=;o0i \+-*9
\]’=[ \
\][p]\]9+264\ 1/
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

26. The Numbers for the business case (con’t)
Better yet, an even better return is made in grid energy storage for existing coal and natural gas fired generating stations. Current boiling water electric turbines can’t cycle their temperatures and pressures rapidly as electricity needs change. So if they are going to meet the demand of the afternoon air conditioners, they can’t throttle down completely at night. They generate excess electricity at night because they can’t get their foot off the gas and they make electricity that no one can use.
This plan lets them keep their foot on the gas at night (keep their temps and pressures up) and still get back most of the excess energy they put in.
ref Hydrogen Manufacture, by Electrolysis, Thermal decomposition, and unusual techniques, Knowledge Publications, page 125.
+\][=-p09\][p584’][=;o0i \+-*9
\]’=[ \
\][p]\]9+264\ 1/
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

27. Single Day Electricity Use in CA
Currently, renewable energy is used only when it occurs in peak times. With this plan, it can be used all the time.
This graph shows that CA gets to handle most of it peaking with hydro (this graph exaggerates the amount of hydro they use). Most states are not as lucky as to have hydro, so they have to use more Combined Cycle (CC $$) to cover peak loads or use more coal or gas in their base load and make more power than necessary at night. Boiling water turbines (either coal/gas) can’t shift more than about 25% of load in 24 hours. Demand (black curve) fluctuates more than turbine generators can accommodate so the difference (hatched area) gets wasted. We always generate more that we use, so without peaking power like hydro and CC, we would generate (red) much more than what is needed (black curve) at night.
Wed, Aug 18, 2000
46,000 (MW)
Peak Load
HYDRO 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 23
14,000 (MW) wasted
Imports
23,000 (MW)
NATURAL GAS & COAL
About 66% of the US electricity comes from this yellow area, but as a base load it cannot throttle up and down quickly
Base Load
Wind
Qualified Facility (Cogeneration)
NUCLEAR
Nuclear QF
Wind
Thermal
Imports
Hydro
Peaking
TIME OF DAY
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

28. Single Day Electricity Use in CA
This graph shows the demand for electricity varying between 46 and 23 MW. That is roughly doubling between low and high usage which is realistic in summer in the south. It also shows various ways of making electricity giving the impression that we make only what is demanded. Unfortunately, all these technologies DO NOT make generation automatically add up to demand. We make AT LEAST what is demanded and frequently quite a bit more at night.
For instance, few locations have hydro power which is very useful for peaking power but even those states that have it frequently have low water during summer and thus can’t use it.
Wed, Aug 18, 2000
46,000 (MW)
Peak Load
HYDRO 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 23
14,000 (MW) wasted
Imports
23,000 (MW)
NATURAL GAS & COAL
About 66% of the US electricity comes from this yellow area, but as a base load it cannot throttle up and down quickly
Base Load
Wind
Qualified Facility (Cogeneration)
NUCLEAR
Nuclear QF
Wind
Thermal
Imports
Hydro
Peaking
TIME OF DAY
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

29. Single Day Electricity Use in CA
Currently, renewable energy is used only when it occurs in peak times. With this plan it can be used all the time.
Without hydro and expensive peaking, our generation curve would be approximately the red curve.
The difference between them (the hatched area) is wasted energy.
This plan would eliminate about 60% of that hatched area.
The recent plan has been to buy Combined Cycle natural gas turbines (think jet engine) and capture the heat of their exhaust as well to make electricity. They are expensive and they run less than half the time (afternoons only and only in the summer).
Wed, Aug 18, 2000
46,000 (MW)
Peak Load
HYDRO 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 23
14,000 (MW) wasted
Imports
23,000 (MW)
NATURAL GAS & COAL
About 66% of the US electricity comes from this yellow area, but as a base load it cannot throttle up and down quickly
If you want to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce fuel cost, recycling the CO2 using a Sabatier reactor is the way to go.
Base Load
Wind
Qualified Facility (Cogeneration)
NUCLEAR
Nuclear QF
Wind
Thermal
Imports
Hydro
Peaking
TIME OF DAY
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

30. The Numbers for the business case (con’t)
In the previous illustration for CA, that difference between what is generated (or would be w/o hydro & CC for peak generation) and what is used is about 150 GWh/day! At $23/MWh that is over $3 Million/day! This CO2 recycle plan would save about 60% of that, or $2 Million/day. (However, I offer the disclaimer that since I don’t know the real breakdown of CA’s fuel costs, this number is only a rough estimate.)
Best of all, now that excess electricity can go into converting CO2 exhaust at the coal or gas fired turbine into natural gas which feeds the furnace (coal or natural gas) and reduces the cost of fuel used in low usage periods.
ref Hydrogen Manufacture, by Electrolysis, Thermal decomposition, and unusual techniques, Knowledge Publications, page 125.
+\][=-p09\][p584’][=;o0i \+-*9
\]’=[ \
\][p]\]9+264\ 1/
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

31. The Numbers for the business case (con’t)
Once the Sabatier reactors are in place at the source of the CO2 (electric generating plant, CO2 sequestration sites, aluminum or H2 production facility, or many others), a market will quickly appear for generating H2, not from otherwise discarded / green energy sources, but from other chemical reactions including but not limited to xxx, High Temp Gas Turbines (HTGT), et al. Fueling the Sabatier reactors to transform CO2 into methane from renewable and any other fuel source is expressly covered by this patent.
ref Hydrogen Manufacture, by Electrolysis, Thermal decomposition, and unusual techniques, Knowledge Publications, page 125.
+\][=-p09\][p584’][=;o0i \+-*9
\]’=[ \
\][p]\]9+264\ 1/
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

32. +\][=-p09\][p584’][=;o0i9+96857\+-*9 \]’=[+6598548\75849+87
No energy treatise is complete without presenting this excellent graph from Lawrence Berkley Labs (formerly Lawrence Livermore Labs in Berkley) and the DOE
ref Hydrogen Manufacture, by Electrolysis, Thermal decomposition, and unusual techniques, Knowledge Publications, page 125.
+\][=-p09\][p584’][=;o0i \+-*9
\]’=[ \
\][p]\]9+264\ 1/
Spend some time analyzing this and seeing just how inefficient our energy use is. I, for one, would like to reduce some of this waste.
Ie, we burn 94.6 quadrillion BTUs of energy to use quadrillion BTUs. We can do better.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

33. This is a typical electric generating plant burning fossil fuel
STEAM TURBINE
ELECTRIC GENERATOR
THE GRID: CONSUMERS
STEAM
WATER
COAL OR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY
BOILER
FURNACE
CO2
EXHAUST
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

34. Here is the same typical electric plant with wind turbines connected at fractional capacity. In Utility jargon, turning away 3rd party energy is called “Curtailment”.
STEAM TURBINE
ELECTRIC GENERATOR
THE GRID: CONSUMERS
STEAM
WATER
COAL OR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY
BOILER
WIND TURBINE ENERGY IS CURTAILED. IT IS ON GRID ONLY 25% OF THE TIME. THE REST IS IGNORED AND WASTED.
FURNACE
CO2
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

35. If we add a Sabatier reactor (catalytic converter) to the fossil fuel power plant, the wind turbines / renewable energy sources can put 100% of their grid-compliant power on the grid.
EXCESS ELECTRICITY
THE GRID: CONSUMERS
STEAM TURBINE
ELECTRIC GENERATOR
STEAM
WATER
COAL OR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY
CURTAILMENT
BOILER
100%
EXCESS ELECTRICITY
THE RESULTING EXCESS ELECTRICITY AT THE FOSSIL FUEL PLANT IS DUMPED INTO HYDROGEN GENERATION.
FURNACE
CO2
REDUCED
CH4
HOT CO2
SABATIER REACTOR
HYDROGEN GENERATOR H2
Excess electricity at the fossil fuel plant is redirected to H2 generators (eg electrolysis) to make H2 which goes to Sabatier reactors that turn exhaust into new natural gas. The fuel supply feeding the furnace then can be turned down and there is less CO2 entering the atmosphere.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

36. If we could ever get to the point of having more renewable energy sources than we have electric demand, we can capture 100% of our exhaust and make our coal and natural gas sources intermittent or optional and storing excess H2 for peak and windless periods. This of course, means that we process more CO2 than we produce. So now this system becomes a consumer of CO2 produced somewhere else. It’s better than sequestration.
EXCESS ELECTRICITY
THE GRID: CONSUMERS
STEAM TURBINE
EXCESS POWER
ELECTRIC GENERATOR
STEAM
WATER
COAL OR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY
BOILER
EXCESS ELECTRICITY
FURNACE
CO2
INTERMITTENT
CH4
HOT CO2
SABATIER REACTOR
(ANY RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE)
HYDROGEN GENERATOR H2
CO2 STORAGE
CO2
Trucked or piped in from other CO2 producers
(BY ANY ELECTRO-CHEMICAL REACTION)
H2 STORAGE FROM EXCESS POWER
* Just truck or pipe CO2 in from some other company that captures their CO2 and charge them to avoid the bother of sequestration and get methane in return.
FOR USE IN PEAK DEMAND OR WINDLESS PERIODS
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

37. Hydrogen can be created from various sources, most notably via Solar Power, but bacteria, algae, HTGR (High Temp Gas Reactor) and others will hopefully come of age soon. Whatever the source, H2 can be transported via pipe or truck to this reactor for storage and use in processing CO2 exhaust.
EXCESS ELECTRICITY
THE GRID: CONSUMERS
STEAM TURBINE
ELECTRIC GENERATOR
STEAM
WATER
COAL OR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY
BOILER
EXCESS ELECTRICITY
FURNACE
CO2
INTERMITTENT
CH4
HOT CO2
SABATIER REACTOR
TRANSPORTING H2 FOR STORAGE & PROCESSING
FROM ANY H2 SOURCE
HYDROGEN GENERATOR H2
H2 STORAGE
(BY ANY ELECTRO-CHEMICAL REACTION)
FOR USE IN PEAK PERIODS
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

38. As this plan gets implemented, and more exhaust is mixed into the furnace, a larger portion of N2 gets put into the furnace. After all, it is 80% of our atmosphere. It will already be hot and will be more likely to form NOX as it gets a second run in the furnace. This can be mitigated if the exhaust stack is equipped with carbon separation. If so, then N2 gets exhausted and reasonably separated CO2 goes into the Sabatier Reactor.
COAL OR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY
BOILER
CARBON
SEPARATION
FURNACE N2
CO2
INTERMITTENT
CH4
HOT CO2
SABATIER REACTOR
HYDROGEN GENERATOR H2
H2 STORAGE
(BY ANY ELECTRO-CHEMICAL REACTION)
FOR USE IN PEAK PERIODS
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

39. Other business cases
BTW, another business case for WTGs is to produce H2 at the wind farm and make NH3 (ammonia) which is the basis for fertilizer. Half of our current hydrogen production goes to making fertilizer and WTGs are already placed in abundance on farms. Making fertilizer in-situ with excess / non-grid compliant electricity would be a bit of a freebie (but of course, not quite – and I’m not going there now!). It would be an excellent opportunity for the Amazon. It helps to understand some soil issues in Brazil though (Yes. I’m the lucky son-of-a-gun who married a hot Brazilian and she’s smart and she explained technically what’s going on in the Amazon which I saw first-hand.)
Another business case is the opportunity in West Texas where they have been sequestering CO2 in caves beneath the earth for some years. There are also about 10 GW of wind turbines in W TX and typical capacity factors are about 25%. If you take the unused electricity and use some of it to heat the CO2 and some of it to make hydrogen, then you can convert the sequestered CO2 into natural gas. Of course, that is simply the plan where you truck the CO2 to the wind farm to produce natural gas. The CO2 is simply already there.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

40. Extras that haven’t found a home
Although hydrogen can be made from wind energy via simple direct current electrolysis, other methods are available. In fact, I have 6 books on my desk now on commercial scale hydrogen production. It is largely a lost art since it is so simple to make it from methane. However some new technologies are joining in the fray.
Simple dc electrolysis using nickel anode, platinum cathode and potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an electrolyte is a tried and true method.
This is improved on using Pulsed Wave Modulation of the direct current (aka Stepped DC current) and yields significant improvements. Increased temperature and pressure also help.
MIT announced a breakthrough in electrolysis in July 2008 using Cobalt, Platinum,and phosphate. It was wildly sensationalized and overstated, but it was a step in the right direction. Daniel Nocera was the claimed inventor.
I was/am wanting to find the link to the patent, filed I believe in 1939 by Conocco Phillips, for using cobalt & phosphate in electrolysis of water, but I haven't found it again yet. Shame on me for not bookmarking it.
Energy Citation ref from Hamilton Sundstrand for an improved Sabatier reactor using ruthenium and alumina catalysts. It doesn't improve the efficiency, but it lowers the starting temp (700°F to 400). The lower temps may not be reqd since it is expected to use the CO2 straight from the exhaust stack of the power generating station.
Topsoe.com produces a low temp catalyst (PK-7R) for CO2 conversion. It was used on the Desert Research Institute methanation demonstrator.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

41. Load Balancing – Integrating Renewables into the Grid
This plan solves a long-standing problem: Integrating the variable and unpredictable power of renewables into a stable grid.
Megawatts (equiv millions BTUs)
No matter how erratic the renewable power is, all the renewable power goes on the grid and the utility redirects its own excess energy into H2 and CH4 production.
With new CH4 to burn, the utility can redirect the CH4 into its furnaces and simultaneously reduce the amount of coal, natural gas, or other fossil fuels that it would otherwise pump into the furnace – and claim a carbon offset in the process.
The utility’s steam cycle stays a smooth, regular temp and pressure so no premature cracking of pipes and equipment occurs.
Time of Day
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

42. Meeting Renewable Energy Requirements
Most states have established minimums for renewable energy production. Because the renewables are erratic and are not currently integrated well, utilities frequently are forced to buy renewable power when it’s available and not when they need it. Ie, utilities are forced to buy renewable energy power when they have excess fossil fuel power already. Of course, this means that the energy from fossil fuel is wasted instead of the renewable energy being wasted. This plan allows nothing to be wasted (except for losses in cycle efficiency). Full cycle efficiency for H2 and CH4 production is expected to be about 75%.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

43. Modes of Operation – Low Penetration of Renewables
When we have only a small amount of renewable power available, our power production will look like this:
Megawatts (equiv millions BTUs)
This mode of operation is always H2 limited. There is no technical advantage to store H2 or CH4. It doesn’t make sense to pressurize and store a fuel that you can use right away. However, if someone does come up with a reason to store the H2 or CH4 here, this patent covers that process.
The (red) curve showing the BTUs of fossil fuel going into the furnace is significantly reduced (proportionally to renewable power) from the top curve of the power produced. That is fossil fuel saved and CO2 removed from existance.
Time of Day
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

44. Modes of Operation – High Penetration of Renewables
When we have much more renewable power available, our power production will look like this:
The area between these curves (night production) shows more renewable energy available than electricity demand, so H2 is made and stored here. (CH4 cannot be made & stored because there is not enough CO2. All the CO2 is going to CH4 production.)
Megawatts (equiv millions BTUs)
The (red) curve showing the BTUs of fossil fuel going into the furnace is a minimum, but not zero. Because not every bit of CO2 is extracted from the exhaust, and the Sabatier reactor will not convert 100% of the H2 into CH4, a small bit of fossil fuel needs to be added in this region.
The area between these curves (peak production) shows more electricity demand than renewable energy available, so here more than a minimum of fossil fuel is added. Note that the additional power produces more CO2 so the H2 that was stored at night can be reacted with the CO2 and further reduce the fossil fuel used.
Time of Day
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

45. Claims, a tiny partial list
It is demonstrated and clearly accepted that significant to large portions of energy are wasted, curtailed or rejected by utilities.
Most renewable energy is currently curtailed. If it is not curtailed, it is bought because utilities are required to purchase renewable energy, and fossil produced energy is wasted instead. Sometimes, utilities will pay renewable energy producers to not produce. That payment is less than what they would receive for real production, but they get to claim reduced operational expenses during non-production.
It is claimed that CO2 can be recycled into a hydrogen rich fossil fuel by adding Hydrogen and that hydrogen rich fuel can be burned again.
It is claimed that one of the hydrogen rich fuels that CO2 can be recycled into is Methane, CH4 according to the equation CO2 + 4H CH4 + 2H2O. Reprocessed Methane can be utilized in our energy landscape transparently. In comparison, burning H2 directly is dangerous. H2 burns at 4000°C and 5000°C if burned with the oxygen that is produced with it. Those temperatures melt most any furnace or engine anywhere and its flame front travels at explosive speeds. Methane, aka Natural Gas is used in heaters, stoves, utilities, cars and many more.
Mitigate production of NOX by incorporating carbon separation into the exhaust, thus preventing the recycling of hot nitrogen back into the furnace. Fortunately, however, sequestration is not necessary as the carbon is feedstock to create the methane, CH4. Fortunately, since initial quantities of H2 will likely be small, so will quantities of N2 and the NOX production from this process will be small initially, but will grow with H2 availability.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt

46. Version History
Normally, Version Histories are put after the TOC, but this ppt is a Presentation, so come to the last screens to see the latest changes in this file.
Here is the same typical electric plant with wind turbines connected at fractional capacity. In Utility jargon, turning away 3rd party energy is called “Curtailment”.
Slide 33.
WIND TURBINE ENERGY IS CURTAILED. IT IS ON GRID ONLY 25% OF THE TIME. THE REST IS WASTED.
Slide 34. Added “NO Curtailment”
CURTAILMENT
100%
Slide 35. Numerous changes. 10/25/ Delivered to Alberto 10/26/2011.
Added slides /14/ Delivered to Alberto 12/14/2011.
US and International Patents Pending
Copyright All rights reserved Eric Schmidt