pimpncuba

problem solved if we can tap into crystal methal-hydrates up north. if i remember correctly there is enough energy in crystal methal-hydrates to fuel the world for like 200 years or something, bad thing is if we mess up their release caused the last ice age.

d0ntdreamit

a russian enviro group? sounds like an oxymoron......does one really exist??

experts funding verses their opinion...LOL.....I think I will watch CNBC now for stock trading tips.....ya, right!!

Rotor Nut

The problem with methanol or E-85 at the gas pumps now is you will need vast amounts of corn and other crops. I live in the mid-west and I think the corn here is getting strecthed pretty thin as it is for the E-85 fuel mix(please note i am not a farmer but i have read and listened to several reports, so I could be wrong). If most of you cars switch to some form of a Methanol mix the price for the corn will go dramatically up since it is only grown in the United Staes in the mid-west in which case you would have to increase imports of corn exponetially. I am not saying that switching from petrol to methonal would be a bad thing, but you have to look at the supply of corn for methanol and see if it is possible to do with societies demand for fuel.

82streetracer

iTrader: (1)

how do you get oil into the combustion chamber with a hydrogen powered rotary

last time I checked, I didnt see a h2 compatable 2-cycle oil

and crank oil isnt going to work any better.

theNeanderthol

iTrader: (1)

In my opinion it is a good thing. I think anything that gets engineers looking at ways to develop the rotary is great. Look at how many competing companies try and out do eachother on theri piston motors. We need more development with these great motors!!!

mbaha

How dare Mazda bring the rotary engine to main stream auto making! Those bastards!

RacerX7fb

no_name

LOL. I still say that you cannot we cannot realy run out of oil. The Canadian government says it has more then 25 years of oil in its reserves. This is not including future dig sites.

Things are always dieing and being turned into oil. Oil is basicly dead dinosaurs, well something that came 5 minutes after the dinosaurs died too. This will also be truned into oil. Pardon teh crude examepl ( cheap pun) but I trust you get teh idea. Oil is a renuable source, teh problem is it takes time to renu, and is hard to find/ dig.

I would still rather have my car run off of potatos, straw, or corn, or some other form of methanol ( cheap vodka.... very cheap vodka)

MaxBoost13bRX

They had in the 2003 auto show a hydrogen propeled Mazda Miata with a rotary engine so thats pretty old. I guess they just recently decided to go foward with it, But hey it shows you the rotary engine serves more purpose than the piston engine

Julian

iTrader: (14)

What the ****


And currently it takes about the same amount of energy to produce methanol as it gives off. Great, that will dig us out of the hole faster

d0ntdreamit

I would like to thank everyone here for not putting forth the retarded tree hugger's idea that,

" solar cells generate electricity which can be used to make hydrogen and have our cars run on hydrogen fuel cells like the lunar rover did in 1969 and the exhaust would be water vapor"

Wanktastic

The idealistic power scheme would be solar, as we happen to have a star capable of providing several hundred million years of light. But realistically, solar generation technology is still very inefficient and toxic to produce, I think 25% efficiency was the best figure I've seen? And that required materials like cadmium, nullifying the environmental boon of their production. We need to push for nuclear, wind, and hydroelectric generation in order for any "hydrogen economy" to work.

I'd personally like to see wind and hydro generators deployed near hazordous-weather environments. If we could harness the energy of the storms of Katrina and other hurricanes, we would reduce their impact when they finally hit. Its kinda a win-win situation: reduced damage, and a bunch of energy to do burnouts with.

Just my 2 cents.

BlastinSideways12A

Coal is the most cost effective way to produce electic power. The US alone has enough coal resources for ~400 years. The technology today is capable of a near zero-emmision coal plant. As far as CO2 emmisions, it doesn't matter, it is all politics. Simply put, the European Union wishes for the United States to sign the Kyoto treaty to hamper our economy because our (mostly) capitalist economy is walking all over their socialist, 35 hour work week, pay welfare to people who won't work, high unemployment numbers economy.

The only reason we keep hearing about dwindling oil supply is that the left and the Europeans wish to make it seem that we are fighting for oil in the middle east in order to embolden our enemy so that we lose the war so that the Democrats can say "We told you America would lose and its all the patriotic right wingers' fault." All to "get power back." It seems thats all Howard Dean talks about.

my $.02

kleinke

Why is this separate thread for the subject in the 1st--Generation specific section when there are already many others in more appropriate sections? There is no reference whatsoever to a 1st-generation RX-7.

capt murph

some of us like to stay in our safety circle

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

Julian said "And currently it takes about the same amount of energy to produce methanol as it gives off. " I have not seen the numbers, but that is probably correct. All the gasoline or Diesel that is used to plow the ground, plant the seeds, harvest the corn, process it, etc, etc. makes it a poor energy source. It would never be economically viable without government subsidies. But it is not as bad as hydrogen.

It amazes me that so many people, including the US, government seem to have gotten behind the hydrogen concept. Hydrogen is a means of transporting energy, but it certainly is NOT a source of energy. The electroysis to separate the hydrogen from water requires prodigious amounts of electricity. How did we generate the elctricity to get the hydrogen in such large quantities for the Apollo moon rockets in the late 1960s-early 70s?

In 1973 I joined the economic analysis group at Boeing, and my first assignment was to work on the economic equations for calculating 1973 operating costs. I distinctly remember an argument about whether we should use 11 cents or 12 cents a gallon for jet fuel costs. That is the environment in which the Apollo mission fuel was generated. But those "huge quantities of hydrogen" were peanuts compared to our automotive fuel needs. People who think we should use solar energy to generate hydrogen for cars just have no concept of the quantities of oil we consume every day to drive our cars and trucks. And people who think we have more than a few years supply of petroleum left in this world are either uninformed or unwilling to face the facts. The price of oil 20 years from now will have a huge effect on our lifestyle, and hydrogen is not the answer. As someone said, synthesis based on coal is likely our only choice.

I have said before, the rotary engine that we all know and love has been surpassed in every way by the most modern piston engines, but when we have to go to alternative fuels, the rotary may yet have its day because of its ability to burn a wide range of fuels.

cosmicbang

There are more appropriate fora for discussion of this subject, but in the interest of enlightenment..

Burning fossil fuels, including coal, is not a viable long term practice-- evironmentally, economically, or politically. The "people who have gotten behind the hydrogen concept" have a significant amount of research, and sound economic analyses showing hydrogen can be a realistic alternative.

Hydrogen can be produced in many ways other than water hydrolysis. Cost-effective methods exist to produce hydrogen from renewable sources. Direct biophotolysis, for example, uses solar energy, water, and algae or bacteria to produce hydrogen with a 40% theoretical efficiency.

Auto manufacturers are developing various hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, including battery and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. These cars offer all the driving thrill of an electric golf cart, with the looks and performance to match.

Mazda's hydrogen rotary RX-8 is an encouraging sign for those who appreciate performance and "real" cars.

Maguire

iTrader: (1)

Its called "Marketing"