A team led by Jay Schmuecker has created a hydrogen-ammonia
tractor upon an Iowa farm plus a whole solar system to provide the fuel.
This incredible new system could be a game-changer for
everyone. It’s the definition of modern thinking put into a slick renewable
system. You can check out a System
Schematic drawing of the system itself, and learn about each and every one
of its unique and impressive sub-systems.
For example, the whole system is going to run on the use of
three two-degree-of-freedom solar trackers, each using 12 solar panels, able to
produce a whopping 8.1kW of energy. The daily power available from the panels
is roughly enough, but any power that is left over will be fed into the grid.
From the Solar Hydrogen System website: “Dennis was
interested in having a tractor that he would use under full power in the field
rather than just to drive in parades. Because of the limited hydrogen
generated, our hydrogen tractor is capable of being used for 10% of the farm
operations.
“I started out assuming that I could obtain a diesel tractor
and have it modified to run on hydrogen. Companies are working on having
diesels run on hydrogen, but are years away from having a product. New Holland
has developed an award-winning fuel cell powered tractor, but the costs of
obtaining a tractor powered by fuel cells is prohibitive. We contacted the Hydrogen Engine Center (HEC)
in Algona, Iowa, who has been making Internal Combustion Engines that are
modified to run on hydrogen gas. They agreed to provide a Ford 460 cu. in. V-8
engine design that could be installed in a tractor and used in the field. We
selected and purchased a John Deere 7810 tractor. The four hydrogen tanks are
sized to contain enough fuel to operate the tractor at full power for four
hours before refueling.”
whole system is capable of producing renewable gas, for
example, by using water from a nearby well that flows through a deionizer. This
then puts it through a hydrogen generator, and a nitrogen generator, meaning
that pure nitrogen can be produced which is flowed directly into the nitrogen
pump.
The oxygen is then vented out and the hydrogen will flow
into the storage tanks, while the nitrogen will flow into the ammonia shed,
where it goes through a compression period and is kept in the nitrogen storage
tank.
It’s also got a very impressive hydrogen pump assembly,
allowing for a continuous state of production to continue on. With tanks as
large as 1000-gallon in size, they can certainly control and maintain a huge
amount of the resources currently being produced by the farm.
Of course, no system like this could ever be built without
guarantees that it would be safe to spend time around. With the respectful use
of their equipment, especially the ammonia, there is an easy way to help maintain
and control the whole state of the system. This is one of the many reasons why,
for many, this project looks to be one of the most interesting of its kind.
Not only is the whole system so widely and intelligently
connected, but it’s made to help deliver the right levels of safety, security
and consistency. In a world where we need to see more work done to combat the
damage we’ve produced to the environment, green-minded solutions like this very
much make sense.
According to Jay Schmuecker, “My late father was an advocate
of using hydrogen to replace fossil fuels.
Ten years ago I started a project on the Iowa farm where he was born to
make demonstration amounts of hydrogen,
nitrogen, and ammonia from solar power, water and air. There are no carbon emissions in either the
generation or consumption of these elements and fuels. The hydrogen and ammonia are used to fuel my
tractor, and the ammonia can be applied as a fertilizer.
“Five years ago I took delivery of my John Deere 7810 tractor in which was installed a Ford 460 V-8 block modified to 9.6 liter
with a 13.5 to 1 compression ratio. The
hydrogen is injected into the spark ignited cylinders, and the engine will
also run on a combination of about 10 %
hydrogen and 90% ammonia.
“Ammonia is an excellent hydrogen carrier. As a liquid it can be stored in 200 psi tanks where hydrogen uses 3000 psi or more tanks to
store the gas. As with gasoline there
are safety concerns with ammonia, Iowa
farmers are used to working with ammonia as they apply it to their corn fields
as a fertilizer.”
There you have it. I’ve talked about hydrogen
fueled tractors before. But this farm tractor and system bring the game to
a whole new level.
