Engineers examine and confirm hydrogen production from solar
catalytic process. Estimated arrival in market: one year or less.
by Sterling
D. Allan
Pure Energy Systems News
click for enlargements
Solar Collector Demonstration
Sept. 13, 2004 at Arizona Public Service.
Susan Carter and Sterling Allan of PES Network Inc. attended the
demonstration on Sept. 13, 2004.
In Canada, prior to transport to Arizona in September
2004 for extended testing at Arizona Public Service in Tempe.
Aerial View of APS STAR site
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TEMPE, AZ September 14, 2004 -- Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation (SHEC)
of Saskatoon, SK, Canada demonstrated a technology Monday in Tempe Arizona
that can split hydrogen from water using solar energy input.
The keys to the process are in a proprietary thermo chemical process that
facilitates the liberation of hydrogen from water in the presence of heat, and
the proprietary solar collector that can hold the heat during brief
intermittent sun situations often encountered by solar arrays.
Three engineers were on hand at the demonstration that took place at Arizona
Public Service (APS)s Tempe solar facility (STAR) to corroborate the
production of hydrogen using a gas chromatography machine procured by SHEC
labs two days earlier for ongoing testing.
In addition to the engineers, also in attendance at the demonstration was an
international contingent of investors, solar club representatives, and
marketing agents from the U.S. and Europe.
The solar collector will be located for the next few months at APS solar
testing facility where data may be collected over an extended period of time.
The Arizona power station grounds are dotted with many arrays representing 20
or 30 different solar designs, producing together about a megawatt of power
which is integrated into Arizonas grid system.
Richard Stegeman, SHEC labs manager in charge of technical operations in
Arizona, is a former NASA solar engineer, and was present at the
demonstration. He will be supervising the data collection at APS.
To him, what is remarkable about this system is that it only needs around half
the amount of heat usually required to produce thermal cracking of water. It
is not that hard to get that temperature. Now we dont have to use exotic
metals, but can use stainless steel and other easily worked metals.
The ideal temperature for the SHEC reaction is 850 degrees Celsius, which is
what the present array is designed to deliver. However, the process will
separate hydrogen at temperatures as low as 400 degrees Celsius.
Another facet of this design that impresses Stegeman is the receiver design. A
typical problem in solar designs similar to this one is that the receiver
re-radiates much of the heat away. The patent pending design that SHEC labs
has produced reduces such emissions by an estimated 30 to 40 percent, thus
increasing the net absorption.
The present design prevents the receiving head from overheating by
incrementally closing a camera-like shutter in front of the receiver. In
future designs, that will be regulated by increasing or decreasing the flow of
water and gasses to the reactor, increasing or decreasing the rate of hydrogen
production.
Another advantage of the design is that the receiver forms a large thermal
mass to maintain the heat during brief fluctuations in sun exposure
similar to a flywheel keeping the system going.
SHEC labs was incorporated Dec. 15, 1996 by Tom Beck, who conceived the
design. Maurice Tuchelt has been responsible for implementing much of the
design. Dr. Lang is responsible for perfecting the catalyst and other chemical
processes.
The hydrogen separation occurs in two steps. First, the hydrogen is split off
from the steam through a catalytic bed reactor. Second, the hydrogen and
oxygen are prevented from rejoining the liquid via their water-gas-shift
reactor, which sequesters the oxygen in an oxide compound.
The prototype demonstrated Monday the fruit of nearly eight years of
research and development - is the third to be produced by SHEC labs.
After several rounds of gas collection and testing by the engineer team on
hand, Ray Fehr, VP of Marketing for SHEC labs announced, We did it. We have
produced hydrogen today. The gas chromatography results show a sharp spike for
hydrogen.
SHEC-Labs has been able to raise $4.5 million Canadian, much of that from the
Saskatoon community where SHEC labs is located. Mark Danneberg of MD Marketing
in Spain, has recently joined SHEC labs to bring in additional funds.
Danneberg said the arrival of this technology in the marketplace is dependant
on how much more money they can raise. It could be less than a year, if we
get enough money.
APS has expressed an interest in utilizing the SHEC labs system in its grid
power production once the technology is adequately proven over time.
Meanwhile, they are assisting SHEC labs by providing the real estate and the
utilities and power needed for testing.
Relevant Websites:
SHEC-Labs official website
http://www.shec-labs.com
Arizona Power Supplier official website
http://www.aps.com/home
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Sunlight Used to Produce Hydrogen From Water (July 9, 2004)
http://pesn.com/2004/07/09/6900033_Solar_Hydrogen/
CONTACTS:
Ray Fehr
Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation (SHEC)
VP Marketing
306-220-5697
rfehr@shec-labs.com
Richard Stegeman
Manager, SHEC-labs Technical Operations
1500 E. University Dr., Tempe, AZ
602-291-0285
rstegeman@cox.net
(European Market)
MD Marketing S.L.
Avenida Pablo Pecasso 8
San Pedro de Alcantara
Malaga, Spain, 29670
Phone: (011)-34-952-927-144
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