Turning Back the Clock - Revisiting Fuel Cells Powered by On-Demand Hydrogen from Borax
Bruce Mulliken

Twenty Mule Team Borax

It’s difficult to predict the future, but it’s easy to look back in time.

Powerful but inexpensive batteries for electric vehicles are years away. Hydrogen fuel cells, with their necessary expensive fueling infrastructure are also stuck in high cost mode. Low cost clean energy technology for vehicles and other mobile applications is needed ASAP. Maybe it’s time to revisit a technology that showed promise nearly a decade ago but fell by the wayside: Fuel cells powered by hydrogen generated from sodium borohydride, a chemical derivative of borax.

Back in the ancient history of clean energy - circa 2001 - a now defunct company, Millennium Cell, was developing a system it dubbed Hydrogen on Demand for DaimlerChrysler’s (now without Daimler) fuel cell vehicle project. At the time I described the system:

"Hydrogen on Demand eliminates the need for hydrogen storage since it is produced as needed by the fuel cell. The Millennium Cell process is to collect hydrogen released from the reaction of water and sodium borohydride. When the two are combined in the presence of catalyst, hydrogen or electricity is produced. Electricity can be used directly. Hydrogen would fuel a fuel cell or be fed into a combustion engine."

There were issues of course. Sodium borohydride or borax powered vehicles would require their own fueling infrastructure and the petroleum industry (Big Oil) would be left out of the profits loop since borax is not in oil’s business plan. (But could be if they wanted.) The oil industry generally supported the hydrogen fuel cell initiative back then because they assumed they’d be selling the hydrogen.

There were also borates supply concerns that were quickly squelched. First, borax is recyclable, it can always be made new again with some energy input. Secondly, there’s lots of it on the planet particularly in the United States. We export significant quantities. (Want to become energy independent United States? Reconsider this borax-for-fuel technology.) To alleviate these supply concerns U.S. Borax, by then a partner in the Chrysler project, did a study, again from this publication:

"According to a study by U.S Borax,there are 600 million metric tons of borates in viable deposits worldwide. If all of the 50 million cars produced each year had a Hydrogen On Demand system on board they would require 3 percent or 20 million metric tons of borates to fuel them. Since the sodium borohydride can be reused and regenerated (for the most part) this is all the sodium borohydride those cars should need in their lifetime. (We would run out of borates at 1.5 billion Hydrogen on Demand fuel cell cars planet-wide.)"

In 2008 Millennium Cell went kaput for unknown reasons. However, former Director of Engineering for Millennium Cell, Dr. Phillip Petillo, who designed and built the hydrogen from sodium borohydride generators for Chrysler, hasn’t given up hope and through his own company, Phil-Lu, has continued to develop on-demand borax/ hydrogen generators as well as hydrogen fuel cells, all patented of course. Now he is seeking funding to continue research and development that would lead to commercialization of his prototypes. He says that his company has developed what would be the lowest cost hydrogen generator and hydrogen fuel cell in the world that could be used to power anything from hand-held electronics to cars, as well as be adapted for stationary applications.

In his words the advantages of his Hydrogen Generators include:

• Simple non toxic chemistry at low cost. Made from Borax and reusable.
• Will release hydrogen when it's needed.
• Can be made with no moving parts.
• The highest energy density of any known system.
• The generator can be made into any size or shape.
• No catalysts or pumps are needed. No fluid interconnections.
• The generator can operate using galvanic principles.
• No membranes are needed.
• Simple and low cost materials can be biodegradable. Non flammable fuel.
• Energy density greater than liquid hydrogen, but safe.
• The generator is 96% efficient.
• The generator can be made into a disposable fuel cell.
• The generator can be scaled up to any size.
• The generators can be made of simple low cost materials.
• Zero carbon footprint.

And of his fuel cell designs:

• Uses low cost materials and injection molded parts and stamped-out metal parts. The cell construction is simple and allows for rapid automated assembly, without many layers of cell plates.
• The cell has external electrical connections with a unique connection design, without power losses or shorting.
• The cell is light weight and can be made in any shape or size.
• The cell can be easily replaced and be disposable.
• Each cell can be easily replaced without disassembly of the entire cell stack.
• The cell will not need any bolts to hold it together.
• The water flooding problem has been solved.
• A new type membrane is under development, which will not require the use of expensive metals and is self sealing, preventing leaks.
• The cell has a new method to remove heat, self cooling fuel cell.
• The cells can be ultrasonically welded together.
• Each cell is plugged into a manifold which locks and seals itself into position.
• The fuel cell is low pressure.
• Zero carbon footprint.

Often it takes more than one try to get a technology right and to get it commercialized. Maybe it’s time to revisit this one. Soon would be a good idea.

Links:

Phil-Lu
http://www.phil-luinc.com

Update: Unknown to me at the time of publication Phil Petillo had died unexpectedly at home on August 14, 2010, only a week after we corresponded. This true Renaissance man will be remembered not only for his genius in science and engineering spanning energy to medical care, but for his talent as a master luthier. His friend Bruce Springsteen called him the best guitar man he'd ever met.

Obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/app/obituary.aspx?n=phillip-j-petillo&pid=144747326

Petillo Masterpiece Guitars
http://www.petilloguitars.com

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