Random 6.11.08

So, in continuing with the promise of my first post, I have finally found my way back to writing. It is difficult at first to remain in a "publisher mood" every day, it seems, as I have not updated anything for at least a couple days. Nevertheless, it will continue.

Working backwards (as everyone seems always to go in "forward" chronological order), I will begin with today. Because it is summer, and because I am inherently lazy, more often than not to my extreme detriment, I did not really do much today, bar researching alternative energy automation and seeing "Don't Mess with the Zohan." As far as anything interesting, "Zohan" was funny and random, and, in spite of myself, I will not criticize it. I am not a critic. There are others for that. They get paid for that. It was funny, Sandler-ish, and a good afternoon. That is that. Researching alternative energy automation? Really? Yeah, that is how I spend my free time. This, however, was not hardcore research (no libraries or interviews or anything worth writing a paper over) but rather a little something to satisfy my interest and cure my ignorance. Browsing through wikipedia, I did discover things that I knew not before, such as the Atkinson Cycle and its applications, but amid all this exploring a discussion was built. It was birthed by a lecture I attended the previous day, given by Dr. Mark Holtzapple, on alternative energy, specifically the use of biomass-produced fuels and Brayton Cycle engines. Very interesting stuff, this is, especially as the hot topic everywhere seems to be "saving the world from ourselves." Anyway, my paragraph seems long and rambly. I'll continue below.

As I said, this topic came forth from yesterday, as I finished the day-and-a-half Texas A&M SHIP with the said lecture by Prof. Holtzapple. (Disclaimer: I do not intend to attend A&M. The SHIP was pretty awesome, though.) His presentation was, really, if based on the defining, unique characteristic, about his StarRotor Brayton Cycle engine, its application to automobiles, and its incorporation of smart technologies such as biofuel and low drag aerodynamics. Opening up this discussion (this is a blog, so I guess the discussion is only a monologue until people comment), I will, at first, put out my stance on the issue. I have been a proponent of the hydrogen economy for some time now. I have to admit that my interest in the issue was peaked by means of my long-running association with BMW. They have been working on hydrogen-fueled internal combustion vehicles for decades, clearly leaders in the campaign. Of latest accomplishment (or not, I'll explain later) is the "introduction" of the world's first hydrogen car available for sale, aptly called the Hydrogen7. (You may have seen a commercial; it's big marketing for BMW.) I'm sure you can look it up yourself if you're interested. Where am I going with this? Well, essentially, the source of my enthusiasm here is a new application of common technology and available fuels to the automotive industry. The Brayton Cycle, as I mentioned before, is the common thermodynamic cycle for jet engines. That is, it involves compression turbines, a separate combustion chamber, and expansion turbines to provide propulsion. The brilliant innovation by Dr. Holtzapple is the application, along with biofuels, of his StarRotor to cars. Are you blown away? I was. His design, although he has yet to produce a prototype, promises efficiencies THREE TIMES higher than a current internal combustion Otto Cycle engine can achieve. So, yes, we could potentially have "jet-powered" cars in the future.

So as to carefully avoid a plethora of technical talk on such a blog as mine (where I don't carry much engineering credibility) I will skip to his plan for a sustainable automotive industry of the future. In addition to the addition of his engine to the pot of "alternative-energy" technologies available, Holtzapple advocates the use of biofuels, such as ethanol. Now, before you get all jumpy on this topic, let me tell you about my own conversion (and my continually rising discontent for government and corporation). As many of you may realize, the current U.S. allotment of 1/4 of our corn to subsidized ethanol production has driven many to fears about food shortages. Although, true enough, this has not been proven, it's always good to have more food than not, right? The real issue for any economist is efficiency. Here, it is the efficiency of the energy cycle from planting to fueling. According to Holtzapple's presentation, corn, when used in the creation of biofuel, produces only about 1.3 times as much energy as was put into its cultivation. It's far better than the obverse ratio, but nothing near the energy ability of switchgrass or sorghum ethanol, or even hemp ethanol! So he estimates that, for the efficiency of the engines that he is developing, the entire U.S. energy usage in automobiles, now obviously in the form of petroleum products (gasoline and diesel), could be grown on a plot of land the size of Connecticut. Amazing? But there is more! As a recycling man, Holtzapple rather prefers the idea of turning garbage into fuel, thus preserving even more precious farmland and putting America's excess waste to good use. I won't go into the chemistry, but he is, with the enthusiastic cooperation of a Houston school teacher, running a pilot program at a high school this fall, having students turn lunch-time garbage into profitable and environmentally-friendly ethanol. Now that I have settled this issue, where to next? Maybe to the doomed hydrogen economy. Maybe not.

I'll keep this short. Hydrogen is expensive. (To any average person, that is only the most ludicrous statement in history. Hydrogen is everywhere, right? 99% of the universe?) Although present in almost everything, trying to obtain and store elemental, gaseous hydrogen has proven to be more trouble than it is worth. And, remember, I use to defend BMW and their hydrogen plan. Just think about it (the hydrogen, that it). The vast majority of hydrogen produced today is done so by burning fossil fuels. Hmm, I thought the idea was to reduce pollution. Fervent supporters of a hydrogen economy (sounds cool, doesn't it) will tell me now that electrolysis solves the problem. No pollution there. Wrong. Most of our electricity comes from coal-fired or natural gas power plants, not from clean, renewable sources. Add in the trouble of it all -- producing hydrogen, condensing, cooling, and liquefying hydrogen, transporting these high-pressure cargoes across a country, and rebuilding an entire industrial infrastructure -- and this "perfect future" looks doomed to another century of higher technology and more money. For today, the biofuels look just right. Environmentally friendly, energy efficient, energy independent, and reasonable.

Now for hydrogen's place in our world. Hydrogen fuel cells hold promise in so many applications. People are talking about laptop batteries, remote electricity generators, etc. But for cars, it seems quite unreasonable. We'll just have to find out, though, as Honda is planning the release of its next fuel cell car, the FCX Clarity, this fall. Plus, for all those interested, both diesel power and electricity are making comebacks in the automotive landscape, most notably (or maybe most interestingly) in the Audi R8 TDI V12 and the Tesla Roadster. Interesting, they may be, but I fear only marketing exercises in promoting a positive impression upon the general public. Nevertheless, the world is moving.

Wow. This post was supposed to be about my last couple of days, but here we are, now 1,255 words in, and I still am stuck on Wednesday. Not consice, in my writing, am I. Back to Tuesday, then. As you may have picked up by now, I was at Texas A&M for two activity-charged days of exploration. I'll just shove the two into one, for my post's sake. Highlights include a lecture by Dr. Suma Datta, tour of the College of Architecture, tour of the Cyclotron Institute, and discussed-at-length lecture by Dr. Mark Holtzapple. Well, Dr. Datta was really interesting; she spoke on stem cell research and its contributions to the fight against cancer. The College of Architecture was pretty cool. Typical stuff, it may have been, but it gave insights into the typical life of an overworked architecture student. The Cyclotron Institute was really cool. I had never seen a particle physics laboratory. Of these things, though, I no longer feel able to write on them intelligently. I am almost used up by the discussion on alternative energy. I could talk about that all day. Maybe I could be a cancer-researching, physics-groundbreaking, alternative-energy hippie architect who does politics on the side and is called in for economics presentations for the UN EcoSoc Council.

I've been working far too long on this single post. I'm sorry (not for you, but for myself) about the lousy ending, but I have so much more to talk about. I can't just keep writing and never publish! So, here it is, my first REAL post about anything more than writing philosophy.

-Brandon M. Wagner