Methane Pyrolysis: Producing Green Hydrogen Without Carbon Emissions

February 13, 2023 by Maya Posch 52 Comments

Generally, when we talk about the production of hydrogen, the discussion is about either electrolysis of water into oxygen and hydrogen, or steam methane reforming (SMR). Although electrolysis is often mentioned – as it can create hydrogen using nothing but water and electricity – SMR is by far the most common source of hydrogen. Much of this is due to the low cost and high efficiency of SMR, but a major disadvantage of SMR is that :slider

large amounts of carbon dioxide are released, which offsets some of the benefits of using hydrogen as a fuel in the first place.

Although capturing this CO₂ can be considered as a potential solution here, methane pyrolysis is a newer method that promises to offer the same benefits as SMR while also producing hydrogen and carbon, rather than CO₂. With the many uses for hydrogen in industrial applications and other fields, such as the manufacturing of fertilizer, a direct replacement for SMR that produces green hydrogen would seem almost too good to be true.

What precisely is this methane pyrolysis, and what can be expect from it the coming years?

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A white longtail cargo bike sits on grass with fenced-in planters behind it. The bike has a basket made of black metal tubes on the front and a passenger compartment behind the rider seat for children made of similar black metal tubes. A white canopy is above the passenger compartment and a solar panel sits atop the canopy.

Solar Powered E-bike Replaces Car Trips

February 7, 2023 by Navarre Bartz 20 Comments

E-bikes can replace car trips for some people, and adding a solar panel can make the fun last longer. [Luke] did some heavy modifications to his RadWagon to make it better, stronger, and faster than it was before.

The first step was replacing the stock 750 W controller with a 1500 W model to give the motor twice the power. [Luke] plans to replace the motor if it gets fried pushing too much juice, but is planning on just being careful for now. To stop this super-powered ride, he swapped the stock mechanical discs out for a hydraulic set which should be more reliable, especially when loading down this cargo bike.

On top of these performance enhancements, he also added a 50 W solar panel and maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller to give the bike a potential 50% charge every day. Along with the OEM kid carrier and roof, this bike can haul kids and groceries while laughing at any hills that might come its way.

Checkout this other solar e-bike or this one making a trip around the world for more fun in the sun.

China’s New 100 MPH Train Runs On Hydrogen And Supercaps

February 2, 2023 by Lewin Day 83 Comments

Electric cars are very much en vogue right now, as the world tries to clean up on emissions and transition to a more sustainable future. However, these vehicles require huge batteries as it is. For heavier-duty applications like trucks and trains, batteries simply won’t cut the mustard.

Normally, the solution for electrifying railways is to simply string up some wires and call it a day. China is trying an alternative solution, though, in the form of a hydrogen-powered train full of supercapacitors.

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Comparing Cheap Capacitative Soil Moisture Sensors With Commercial Sensors

February 1, 2023 by Maya Posch 41 Comments

When your residence has soil moisture sensors embedded that were dictated by your friendly neighborhood HoA, you may start asking questions about the system used. That’s what [Modest Maker] did and the resulting findings along with an attempt to beat the commercial system with some cheap capacitive sensors, are covered in a recent video that’s also embedded below. Part of the motivation here was that the commercial system in the community was not clearly installed properly.

To make a long story short, the commercial system by Hunter (Soil-Clik) appears to be a tensiometer-based system that uses the pressure produced by moisture intrusion into the measurement column. This translates to how easy it is for plant roots to extract water, depending on the soil type. [Modest Maker] had to first dodge the broken-by-design capacitive sensors that are available everywhere, but after that was able to cobble together a measurement system that he hopes will allow him to validate the commercial system’s installation.

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Self-Watering Planters Reuse Household Jars

January 29, 2023 by Donald Papp 9 Comments

Self-watering planters are low-maintenance, and common DIY projects. What we like most about [Tommy]’s design is that it reuses empty jars to create self-watering planters. After all, jars are fantastic at reliably holding water, so why not put them to work? Incorporating jars as part of the design means fewer worries about leakage, but it also means less 3D printing is needed overall.

A wick (in this case, a piece of string) takes care of moving water from jar to the soil.

[Tommy]’s planter screws onto the threads of a jar’s neck. Getting water to the plant is helped by a small piece of string, which acts as a wick between the soil at the top and the water in the jar at the bottom. This design works best with small plants, but on the plus side there are no moving parts or other complexities. Got a 3D printer? Models for the planter are available here.

The biggest challenge for this design is that not all jar threads are alike, so planters made in this way are not completely interchangeable across all different types of jars. Fortunately, [Tommy] provides the OpenSCAD code he used to generate his design, which he created with the help of an industry guide on how to measure the finish (or threads) of jars and lids.

If you find yourself needing to further customize your own version to fit a particular container’s threads, there’s no need to start from scratch. Unsurprisingly, threads and lids are highly standardized so chances are there exists a calculator, tool, or existing model for exactly what you need.

Beehive In A Bottle

January 21, 2023 by Bryan Cockfield 49 Comments

One of the most common types of beekeeping hive is based around the Langstroth hive, first patented in the United States in 1852. While it does have some nice features like movable frames, the march of history has progressed considerably while this core of beekeeping practices has changed very little. But that really just means that beekeeping as a hobby is rife with opportunities for innovation, and [Advoko] is pioneering his own modern style of beehive.

In nature, bees like to live inside of things like hollowed-out tree trunks, so he has modeled his hive design after that by basing it around large inverted plastic bottles. Bees can enter in the opening at the bottle and build their comb inside from the top down. The bottles can be closed and moved easily without contacting the bees, and he even creates honey supers out of smaller bottles which allows honey to be harvested without disturbing the core beehive.There are a number of strategies to improve the bees’ stay in the bottles as well, such as giving them wooden skewers in the bottle to build their comb on and closing the bottles in insulation to help the hives regulate their temperature more evenly and to keep them dark.

He hopes this idea will help inspire those with an interest in the hobby who wouldn’t otherwise have the large amount of money it takes to set up even a few Langstroth-type hives. Even if you don’t live in a part of the world where the Langstroth hive is common, this system still should be possible to get up and running with a minimum of financial investment. Once you’ve started, though, take a look at some other builds which augment the hive with some monitoring technology.

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Automated Drip Watering Device Keeps Plants Happy

January 20, 2023 by Lewin Day 10 Comments

Plants tend to need a regular supply of water to stay happy. If you’re a green thumb, it’s one of the primary things you should take care of before you go on holiday. This DIY plant watering system from [Jaychouu] offers to handle just that.

The system consists of a soda bottle acting as a water container, and an electronically-controlled valve to control the flow of water to plants. Irrigation of the plants is via dripper nozzles to provide a small but consistent feed to the plants. The use of drippers tends to disturb the soil less than pressurized jets of water. A soil humidity sensor is used to detect moisture levels and avoid over-watering. There’s also a capacitive water level sensor that fires off a warning when the reservoir’s water level is low. An ESP32 serves as the brains of the operation, allowing remote control via Blynk.

If you’re looking for a simple way to drip water your plants while you’re away, it’s hard to go wrong with this concept. If you feel like a more passive solution though, we’ve seen other viable methods too.

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