FLARE GAS NOW A PRODUCTIVE CONTRIBUTOR TO THE HYDROGEN ECONOMY

Wärtsilä, a major engine manufacturer in Finland, has developed the GasReformer, a new product that converts gases that have in the past just been burned off in a flare that is a very visible symbol of air pollution into usable fuel for dual fuel engines. Not incidentally, the device produces Hydrogen at no additional cost as part of the process. This should put an end to carping critics of the cost of a Hydrogen economy AND to those who contend that hydrogen is too expensive as a lifting gas for lighter-than-air airships . Here is a chart adapted from an article in the April 2013 issue of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News :

GasReformer by Wärtsilä : Real Case Performance

        Input Gas Composition                                                      Output Gas Product

Methane           78%                                                      Methane           79%                                         

Ethane                9%                                                      Ethane                0%

Propane              7%                                                      Propane              0%

Butane                3%                                                      Butane                0%

Hydrogen         0%                                                     Hydrogen       10%

Carbon Dioxide  2%                                                      Carbon Dioxide  10%

Water                0%                                                      Water                  1%

Composition of Flare Gas changes from pollutant, to be burnt off, changing useless waste products to useful fuels.

Let us recall that hydrogen can also be used as input to fuel cells for the production of electricity in both stationary and mobile environments, with NO noxious waste products . It looks like the Hydrogen Economy has now taken another leap forward .