Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Liquid Electricity


What is Blue Fuel?



Dimethyl ether is the simplest ether, with a chemical formula of CH3-O-CH3 and a molecular formula C2-H6-O (which it shares with ethanol. A synthetic compound, the physical properties of dimethyl ether are similar to those of liquefied petroleum gases (i.e., propane and butane). Dimethyl ether burns with a visible blue flame and is non- peroxide forming in the pure state or in aerosol formulations.

Unlike methane, dimethyl ether does not require an odorant because it has a sweet ether-like odor. Gaseous in ambient conditions Blue Fuel™ becomes a liquid when cooled to -25C or pressurized to about six atmospheres. Until recent years it was primarily used as an ozone-friendly aerosol propellant, replacing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in hair sprays, for example, and in the production of ultra-pure glass because it burns without forming soot. Blue Fuel is hydrogen rich and contains no direct carbon bonds or sulfur.



Why Blue Fuel™?

Four compelling reasons:

1. Blue Fuel™ lowers the carbon content of the atmosphere. Blue Fuel™ can be produced in carbon-neutral fashion, so replacing fossil fuels with Blue Fuel™ can help us get back to the safe upper limit of 350 parts per million (ppm) of atmospheric carbon dioxide, improving our chances of preventing catastrophic global warming. Beyond 350 ppm we are pushing our luck. And pushing our luck is what we are doing because we are now close to 400 ppm and are on course for even more alarming concentrations.


2. Blue Fuel™ provides energy security. Despite the apparent abundance of oil in the global marketplace at present (early 2009), the world may soon start running short of it. If this happens and a substitute(s) for petroleum-based fuels are not in place, economic and political chaos could ensue. Though electric vehicles and natural gas-powered vehicles may play significant roles in the transportation sector, they have limitations that require the adoption of other solutions as well. With electric vehicles, for example, there are the issues of grid and vehicle size and range constraints.

And though natural gas has environmental benefits that diesel and gasoline do not, it is still a fossil fuel that will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Blue Fuel™ is liquid electricity™, a fuel that will buy time as the grid is expanded; it is also a non-fossil fuel that can be burned in the most efficient internal combustion engines ever devised—the diesel. Further, Blue Fuel™ can be produced from multiple, abundant, readily available feedstocks — the foundation of energy security.

3. Blue Fuel™ improves the quality of the air we breathe. Blue Fuel™ delivers sootless combustion with no SOx, low CO2 and 90% less NOx emissions than standard automotive fuels. This translates to clean air—and better health. Better health, of course, not only enhances quality of life, it also has economic benefits. People made ill by air pollution are less or non-productive and require medical treatment. Countries around the world spend vast sums of money on hospital visits as a result of air pollution, a significant portion of which can be attributed to the combustion of fossil fuels.

4. Blue Fuel™ saves petroleum for future generations. Do we really have the right to burn almost all the oil that has taken millions of years to form on our planet—within less than 200 years? Should we not be leaving generous reserves for future generations to use for higher-level applications than power generation, transportation, and heating? Petroleum is an extremely valuable feedstock for the production of innumerable products fundamental to our daily lives, including, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, plastics, paints, synthetic rubber, lubricants...

Blue Fuel™ has attributes that are fundamental to its capacity to mitigate global warming, provide energy security, and improve air quality.

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