Water, water, in the tank

[khaosworks]

Water-fuel car unveiled in Japan

Jun. 13 - Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water.

The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car's tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it.

SOUNDBITE: Kiyoshi Hirasawa, CEO, Genepax.

Michelle Carlile-Alkhouri reports.

Dear Ms Carlilie-Alkhouri: you said it — so here's the clue. When something sounds "too good to be true", it probably is. Did you ask how this mysterious "energy generator" works? What supplies the energy to extract the hydrogen from the water in the first place? How can it truly be a self-contained system that will keep running perpetually as long as you have water without violating the Second Law of Thermodynamics?

Endgadget goes into a bit more detail, stating that according to Genepax, the generator depends on "membrane electrode assembly (or MEA), which contains a material that's capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction". In addition, the company states that it's adopted a "well-known process to produce hydrogen from water to the MEA." Yes, Virginia, it's called "magic", "good bunny thoughts" or more accurately in this case: "lying". It reminds me of the time John Byrne used a "process too complicated to explain" to separate the Hulk and Bruce Banner by soaking him in a hot tub (Incredible Hulk #315, Jan. 1986).

As some of the Engadget readers point out, if it's a chemical reaction, and some fuel cells work on this principle, there has to be some kind of oxidation going on, probably using some kind of metal like lithium or platinum to aid the reaction, which means that eventually you're going to have to replace that because that's where the energy is coming from, ultimately. Like the proverbial glasses, the water does nothing (or at least very little).

For more on the history of perpetual motion machines, see the links at The Museum of Unworkable Devices.

Comments

[kampongchicken.livejournal.com]

Isn't this just electrolysis? Split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen, combust them, recycle the by-product, and hopefully some of the energy released can be ploughed back into batteries for further electrolysis. Not that it makes for a perpetual motion machine, of course.

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Indeed it is, but even electrolysis requires some energy to start it off, and entropy sez that the cycling can't be endless.

[kampongchicken.livejournal.com]

Thought it was more a case of it taking way more energy to electrolyse than is given off by burning hydrogen? Endless cycling ... sounds like a cleats-n-tights kinda thing!

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

That's a matter of efficiency, and that's the problem with fuel cell technology at present. In any case, you will always lose some energy in the process, which makes the self-contained system claim complete bollocks.

[sdorn.livejournal.com]

To move from fraud to fantasy, I'm still skeptical of the hydrogen fuel-cell car idea, since you gotta get the energy from somewhere. But Honda's work on electrolysis using natural gas as a source is intriguing: natural gas is still a fossil fuel, so I guess the idea is that a distribution network would allow generation at a source (gas station, even a home), and that would increase efficiency.

[faxpaladin.livejournal.com]

And here I was thinking the other day that I hadn't heard about water-fueled cars in a while; at least this one doesn't have the "oil company conspiracy to keep this out of your hands" angle, unless that's in the video.

Besides, of course, the fact that it doesn't work, what a singularly great idea — 'cause, you know, it's not like water supplies are strained anywhere, and we need the water for anything else...