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Re: www.powerball.net



At 04:07 PM 4/26/97 EST, you wrote:
>Could someone with webb access check out www.powerball.net since we are on the
>hydrogen thread?
>
Randy,
        Here is the "Concept Page" from the site. It deals mostly with the
ideas behind and some possible solutions to the Powerball Idea.

Rick Stevens



Powerball Hydrogen Storage Concept
                                Paper 



       The Problem:  Hydrogen is difficult
       to store


       Cryogenics


       Liquid storage of hydrogen at -435 Fahrenheit is difficult to achieve
and maintain.
       Consider that 1 gallon of Liquid Hydrogen weighs .583 lbs and 1 gallon of
       gasoline, by comparison, weighs 7.0 lbs. 4 gallons of liquid hydrogen
are needed
       to produce the same power as 1 gallon of gasoline! Consider the Space
Shuttle
       and its huge tank of liquid hydrogen. A tank of petroleum based fuel
would be
       much smaller, yet the critical issue is not volume but mass for NASA.
Hydrogen
       stores 3 times the energy of jet fuel by mass. Thus, it is the fuel
of choice for
       NASA.
       Liquid hydrogen is a good choice for shuttle missions for another
important
       reason: The bulk of the Hydrogen can be loaded directly before
take-off and
       consumed within a short time. Cryogenic storage works well for space
       applications, it is not well suited for civilian applications. The 4
to 1 volume ratio of
       liquid hydrogen to gasoline is only part of the problem. The support
equipment to
       maintain a tank of hydrogen at nearly absolute zero is very expensive
and requires
       an outside energy source, and/or you need to continually allow the
hydrogen to
       vent. Even with some of the best cryogenic tanks built it would only
take a few
       days before a large percentage of the hydrogen would evaporate. The
hydrogen
       venting concerns are also a problem for civilian applications
considering that many
       undercover parking areas and garages are nearly air tight, it may be
harder for the
       vented hydrogen to escape--leading to a potential explosion.
       The proposed liquid hydrogen infrastructure has many problems as
well. Consider
       that a standard gasoline station needs only a couple of steel tanks, some
       mechanical pumps, credit card readers and they are open for business.
A liquid
       hydrogen fueling station, on the other hand, needs expensive and
energy intensive
       support equipment to achieve or maintain cryogenic temperatures. The
potential
       failure of cryogenic support equipment at a LH2 refueling station
could lead to a
       potentially dangerous expansion of gaseous hydrogen. 




       Compressed Hydrogen Storage


       The "State of the Art" hydrogen tanks (composite wound over HDPE) are
       compressed to 3000 psi. (See EDO fiber science in Canada) This is 204
times the
       atmospheric pressure on earth. Some of the sample cars funded in part
by Xerox
       and in use around Los Angeles hold around 8 cubic feet. Ballard
systems plans (or
       has installed already) buses in Los Angeles, Quebec, and Chicago. The
       compressed tanks on top of the buses hold considerably more hydrogen than
       those used for vehicles.
       Consider the potential energy involved in even the smaller 8 cubic
foot tanks of
       hydrogen for use in vehicles: Roughly 25 million foot-pounds of force
is stored as
       potential energy in the gas pressure alone (ignore entirely, for a
moment, the
       combustion power of the hydrogen). This force, if somehow directed
entirely at a
       1 pound object, could propel the object 25 million feet (or 4734
miles) away from
       the earth. It would also be sufficient to toss a 2000 pound car more
than 2 miles
       high. Much work is being done to insure that the tanks can never
break, crack,
       split, or become punctured. Unfortunately, in the real world,
anything that can go
       wrong...will.
       Currently, it takes approximately 15 KWH to force 1632 cubic feet of
hydrogen
       into an 8 cubic foot tank. This represents 10% of the entire energy
available in the
       hydrogen. A high pressure hydrogen refueling infrastructure would consume
       hundreds of mega watts of electrical energy if used on a large scale.
Unfortunately,
       a bulky 8 cubic foot composite tank (roughly the size of a 100 gallon
gasoline
       tank) even at 3000 psi can store a maximum of 8.4 pounds of Hydrogen.
A mere
       3.6 gallons of gasoline would store the same power. 




       Metal Hydride Storage


       Many metals and metal alloys are known to absorb hydrogen. The current
       promising contenders are TiFe, Mg2Ni and LaNi5 (W.E. Wallace). Consider a
       metal hydride storage tank for use in a passenger vehicle (see Maxda,
Ballard,
       Siemens, Daimler-Benz, and BMW). Metal hydride storage eliminates the
need
       for cryogenics and many metal hydrides store hydrogen at ambient
pressure,
       eliminating the dangers of high pressure hydrogen storage. Metal
hydrides,
       however, are heavy and expensive...priced out any lanthanum, nickel,
or titanium
       lately? In addition, metal hydrides have cyclic effects as the
hydrogen is repeatedly
       absorbed into the lattice structure and then urged back out. They
tend to become
       brittle and less responsive over time. Refueling a block of Lanthanum
Nickel
       hydride is not a quick process that can take place while you grab a
soda and
       some potato chips. Many hydrides require hours to fully charge up.
       Another fundamental problem exists which is of a thermodynamic
nature: Namely,
       all reverse hydriding reactions are endothermic. Unfortunately, this
means that you
       always need to pump energy INTO a hydride to get the hydrogen back
out. In
       many cases this energy represents a large share of the hydrogen
energy available.
       Usually the energy is pumped into the hydride as heat. Once the
hydride is heated
       to a particular temperature (which can change depending upon the
number of
       cycles it has seen), the hydrogen is released. Some developers have
proposed
       using the waste heat from the combustion engine to heat up the block
of hydride to
       release hydrogen which appears to be a workable situation. The
problem still
       exists however, that upon start up the engine and the hydride are
both cold. This
       means that an auxiliary (battery powered?) heater is needed or a
separate gaseous
       hydrogen tank has to be added. Although these options are technically
viable, they
       add to overall system cost and complexity.
       Safety conditions are not only a concern with a hydride storage tank,
but certain
       problems may be inevitable. Consider that during a fire, mechanical
failure,
       runaway condition, or malfunction of auxiliary heaters, the metal
hydride block is
       allowed to heat to the hydrogen release temperature or beyond. Any
number of
       conditions would then cause a large majority, if not ALL, of the
stored hydrogen
       to be released at once. Consider that an average passenger vehicle
needs to carry
       12,240 gallons of H2 at STP for a range of even 200 miles. Consider
that all of
       this hydrogen could be released at once from a metal hydride system
during a
       runaway condition!
       Rare-earth metal hydrides are just that...rare! Lanthanum and other
hydride
       materials exists in the earth's crust in the parts per million range.
To produce
       hundreds of pounds of the metal for millions of vehicles would
require a mining
       effort to rival that of the petroleum industry.
       Acceptable hydrogen charge-up times may also be theoretically out of
reach. The
       internal lattice structure of a metal requires a set amount of time
to absorb
       hydrogen. The density changes along with the magnetic properties,
physical
       properties, and internal crystalline structure. There are some things
that even
       Scotty from the Star Trek crew just simply cannot change! 




       The Solution: Powerballs


       Powerballs are small solid balls or pellets of sodium hydride that
are coated with a
       waterproof plastic coating or skin. Powerballs are stored directly in
water. They
       can remain in water for months with little or no change to the
coatings. As soon as
       the skin of one Powerball is removed, then the sodium hydride inside
can react
       with water to produce hydrogen.

       NaH + H2O = NaOH + H2

       The sodium hydride/water reaction is very exothermic and fast. A
solid sodium
       hydride ball (with a 1 inch diameter) submerged in water will react
to completion
       within 10 seconds. Sodium hydride Powerballs react with water to release
       hydrogen on demand. 




       How Much Energy is Stored in a
       Powerball?


       Consider a sodium hydride Powerball with a 1.2 inch diameter.
Consider the
       coating thickness to be .020. Thus, the ball consists of 13.39 cm3 or
18.75 grams
       of sodium hydride(NaH). When reacted in the above reaction, 1.56
grams, or
       17.5 liters of hydrogen would be produced. Consider that 17.5 liters
of gaseous
       hydrogen at STP would have to be compressed to 1307 atmospheres in
order to
       achieve the same density as the sodium hydride Powerball! This is 19,213
       psi...not only a difficult to achieve pressure for hydrogen, but in
fact impossible
       (even liquid hydrogen is far less dense).
       A gallon container of Powerballs would be roughly 30% empty space and 70%
       NaH by volume. Even with the 30% loss, a gallon of Powerballs stores a
       respectable 12.7 KWH. Consider that a top of the line lead acid
battery weighing
       far more than a gallon of Powerballs stores less than 1KWH. 




       Is a Powerball/Water Tank safe?


       A Powerball/Water tank does not have to be kept to near absolute
zero. Large
       compressors are not needed for refueling. In fact, to refuel a
Powerball/Water
       tank all that needs to be done is, 1) remove waste hydroxide and
skins, 2)pour in
       water, 3)dump in Powerballs, and the system is refueled ready for
use. If a
       Powerball/Water tank is cut, ripped, or severely damaged, all that
happens is
       water and spheres spill out. You get the crack fixed or buy a new
tank, refill with
       spheres and water and all is well again. (A far different scenario
than that of a
       compressed hydrogen tank) There is very little pure hydrogen in a
       Powerball/Water tank. Hydrogen is produced from the water
incrementally, and
       on demand. You never have to worry about a large hydrogen explosion
because
       no more than about one-tenth of an ounce of pure hydrogen is ever
produced in
       advance at any one time. The hydrogen from a Powerball/Water tank is
consumed
       directly after it is produced by either a fuel cell or a combustion
engine (see Moller
       International in Davis or Bill Kaiser at AMD in Highland, California
for hydrogen
       combustion information).
       A Powerball/Water tank can hold a few hundred or a few million spheres,
       depending on the size of the tank. If the skin of one individual
Powerball is
       removed, and the sodium hydride inside the skin reacts with the water
around it,
       no problems are created for the adjacent spheres. They remain intact
and content.
       The hydrogen produced by the one reacting sphere bubbles to the top
and is used
       normally. In an extreme case where, for some unknown reason, the
coatings of
       many spheres are somehow removed and enough hydrogen is produced to
       increase the pressure beyond what the tank is rated for (around 200
psi) then
       some hydrogen would be released through a pressure relief valve at
the top of the
       tank. 




       How Does It Work?


       A Powerball/Water tank is filled with water and Powerballs. A space
at the top of
       the tank (above the water) stores a small quantity of gaseous
hydrogen at low
       pressure. A mechanism inside the tank senses the internal hydrogen
pressure.
       Assuming that there are no leaks, and assuming that the hydrogen is
not being
       used, then the hydrogen pressure remains the same and the mechanism does
       nothing. A Powerball/Water tank filled with spheres and water can
remain in this
       condition for as long as required. Various coatings could be used on the
       Powerballs to give the system a shelf life of decades!
       During operation, as hydrogen is used from the tank, the mechanism
senses the
       pressure drop. Once the pressure drops below a set level, the
mechanism takes a
       single Powerball from the group of Powerballs and removes the skin,
allowing it to
       react with the water in the tank. Thus, the hydrogen bubbles to the
surface of the
       water and the hydrogen pressure inside the tank increases to former
levels.
       Consider a Powerball of 1.2 inches in diameter: (currently the only
size Powerball
       manufactured in the known universe). A Powerball of this size will
produce 17.5
       liter (1068 in3) of hydrogen. Assuming that the volume of stored
hydrogen in the
       tank is 141 cubic inches, then the produced hydrogen increases this
pressure by
       111 psi.
       Experiments with actual Powerball/Water tanks at Powerball Industries
have
       shown that these pressures are achieved (within a few percent) each
time a
       Powerball is reacted. As hydrogen is used from the Powerball/Water
tank, the
       mechanism continues to remove balls from the group and react them one
at a time
       to produce additional hydrogen. The process can continue until the
last Powerball
       in the tank is reacted.
       The leftover polyethylene skins (they look a bit like orange
peelings) are collected
       in the Powerball/Water tank during operation. When all the Powerballs
have been
       used up, the NaOH waste material must be properly removed along with the
       skins. After a Powerball/water tank is emptied, it can immediately be
refilled with
       water and new Powerballs. The tank is ready once again to supply
clean hydrogen
       for use in a piston engine, rotary engine, power plant, or to a fuel
cell equipped
       car. 




       So Why Isn't Sodium Hydride Used
       To Produce Hydrogen Now?


       The sodium-water reaction was discovered before the term gasoline
combustion
       engine even existed. It is one of the most well known reactions in
science.
       However, a large container of liquid sodium would be extremely unsafe and
       unstable as a method for hydrogen production in a portable
application such as a
       vehicle. As Bevan Ott (Dept of Chemistry, BYU) once stated to me in 1989
       during the formative stages of this research... "I have worked with
sodium metal
       before, and I will NEVER ride in a vehicle with a tank full of liquid
sodium!" And
       for a very good reason: The problem with the sodium-water reaction is
that the
       possibility exists for unsafe conditions to occur. If unsafe
conditions occur, the
       entire car could be doomed...along with poor old Bevan Ott. It could
react almost
       all at once with water to produce lots of fire, heat, smoke and an
explosion.
       The sodium/sulfur vehicles developed by Ford Motor Company have had some
       problems along this very line including an unfortunate sodium fire in
a sodium/sulfur
       battery powered van parked in the garage of the formerly nice home of
one of the
       battery developers.
       Lockheed Corporation invested millions in the sodium-water and
lithium-water
       battery more than 20 years ago (1974-1978) only to abandon the
project after
       blowing the roof off their main battery testing facility. The Davis
County fire
       department was instructed to stand by...squirting high pressure water
on burning
       molten lithium metal did not seem appropriate or constructive.
       Thus, it has been for these examples and many others that sodium and
all other
       alkali metals have been labeled by many in the scientific community
as useless as
       an energy storage medium for nearly a century. After the tiger bites
you enough
       times you lose interest in trying to tame it! 




       Powerballs Could Change
       Everything!


       A chain reaction is simply not possible with Powerballs in water. A
Power Ball
       can react without disturbing or causing its neighboring balls to
react. Hence,
       sodium hydride cut up into small balls and coated with a waterproof
skin is now
       almost an entirely new element. The rules change. For instance, all
alkali metals
       are currently shipped with the label--DANGEROUS WHEN WET or KEEP
       AWAY FROM WATER.
       These warnings could be ignored entirely with Powerballs. In fact,
for many
       reasons, Powerballs would be safer if stored directly in water. For
instance, a
       Powerball/Water tank in a fire would be safer in many ways than a
gasoline tank.
       We all know what happens to a gasoline tank in a fire. Consider that a
       Powerball/Water tank would heat up to the boiling point of water and
then no
       further. Most conceivable Powerball coating could easily withstand the
       temperature of boiling water. The 8 or so gallons of water in the
tank would heat
       to the boiling point and then stay at that temperature until the
water had
       evaporated from the tank. Only then (and considering that even a 1000
degree F
       fire would still take some time to boil off 8 gallons of water) could
the Powerballs
       catch fire and burn. And even in this extreme case, the sodium oxide
fumes
       produced from the burning sodium hydride would be no more dangerous
than the
       aluminum oxide fumes caused by burning aluminum wheel rims.
       A more likely scenario is that the fire is extinguished within 10
minutes or so. An
       important consideration is that the fire could be extinguished by
conventional
       means including water and carbon dioxide. Consider that neither water nor
       polyethylene reacts with conventional extinguishing propellant. Another
       consideration is that if all vehicles were powered by Powerballs, it
would be fairly
       tricky to start a fire in the first place, even during a major
collision. A fuel cell
       operating at nearly room temperature is hardly capable of starting a
fire. There are
       no spark plugs. No gasoline tanks can break open. No hot exhaust
ports. About
       the only thing left even capable of starting a fire would be the
cigarette lighter.
       Incidentally, if the cigarette companies all divest into the
manufacture of
       Powerballs and quit hawking their foul sticks to innocent children,
then we would
       have next to no chance for vehicle fires. No offense Philip
Morris--p.s. what
       about that divesting suggestion anyway? 




       What Else Could Powerballs Be
       Made From?


       Powerballs could be made from many different alkali metals and
alkaline earth
       metals and their hydrides. Don't confuse an alkali or alkaline earth
hydride with a
       rare earth hydride. The method of hydrogen retrieval is vastly different.
       Rare-earths are heated and the hydrogen is released. Alkali or
alkaline earth metal
       hydrides are simply reacted with water to release hydrogen.

       Here is a quick list of several alkali metals, alkaline earth metals,
some of
       their hydrides and mixed metal hydrides which could be used to generate
       hydrogen upon reaction with water:



       Alkali Metals
                            Alkaline Earth Metal
       Sodium
                            Calcium
       Lithium
       Potassium
       Alkali Hydrides
                            Alkaline Earth Hydride
       Sodium Hydride
                            Calcium Hydride
       Lithium Hydride
       Mixed Metal Hydrides
       Lithium Aluminum Hydride
       Sodium Aluminum Hydride


       And a quick list of potential coating materials (skin):

       Polyethylene (HD, LD, or UHMW) 
       Polypropylene 
       Kraton 
       SBR 
       Noryl 
       PEEK 


       How Are Powerballs Made?


       The manufacturing of Powerballs would depend on the type of reactant
material
       and the type of skin desired. For instance, lithium aluminum hydride
can store
       more than twice as much hydrogen than sodium for the same volume.
PEEK can
       withstand much higher temperatures than polyethylene. The process of
       encapsulation of reactant in skin will change from one material to
another.
       A number of pelletizing processes are available. Sodium, for
instance, with a
       melting point of approximately 100 C can be easily melted and allowed
to drip
       from the top of a column of inert gas. As the sodium falls it
automatically forms
       into balls which could then be coated with polyethylene, for
instance. Sodium
       hydride, on the other hand, is a white powder and has NO melting
point at any
       temperature at atmospheric pressure. ( It decomposes into hydrogen
and liquid
       sodium at 425 C) Sodium hydride could be formed into balls by various
stamping
       methods. The balls could then be powder coated. An injection molding
process
       could also be developed to produce the sphere and coat it all in one
clean step. 




       Hydroxide Handling Issues


       The sodium hydroxide left over in a Powerball/Water tank is the waste
product of
       the sodium-water reaction. However, most professionals in the
hydroxide industry
       would chuckle at the term waste when used to describe sodium
hydroxide. NaOH
       is the 9th most commonly produced chemical in the U.S. Wyandotte (a
supplier of
       NaOH boasts in a pamphlet that just one of their NaOH cells uses more
electricity
       in one day than a city of 40,000 families would use in a month. And
in fact, the
       manufacture of sodium hydroxide consumes 1 out of every 100 Mega watts
       produced in the U.S. by any method. Sodium hydroxide is used in the
       manufacture of paper, paint, textiles, cloth, plastic, petroleum, and
cleaning
       solutions. Interestingly, a huge percentage of all hydrogen produced
globally is
       simply a byproduct of the sodium hydroxide industry. (See Praxair,
Air products
       etc.) Modern day society would come to a screeching halt without sodium
       hydroxide. It is used somewhere along the line in the manufacture of
virtually every
       conceivable product. Interestingly, it could be produced as a waste
product by
       millions of Powerball vehicles and recycled for use in industry or
used to produce
       more Powerballs. 




       Powerball Refueling Station


       A Powerball fuel station of the future would need three separate
tanks. One tank
       would be filled with Powerballs and water. The second with sodium
hydroxide
       and the third would be used to store the Powerball coating material.
       Consider an individual named Agi who drives a Powerball-hydrogen car
of the
       future. Agi stops at the local Powerball equipped 7-11 for a snack
and swipes her
       card for a quick refill of Powerballs. Consider that Agi's fuel tank
has a few
       remaining Powerball and the balance is sodium hydroxide (let's say 6
gallons). Agi
       inserts a nozzle into the refuel cap of her car, presses the flashing
start button and
       goes inside to get some potato chips. Meanwhile, several important
things happen:
       First, no hydrocarbon fumes are coming from Agi's open fuel tank
(there are
       none). Second, the fuel station pumps the 6 gallons of NaOH into an
underground
       hydroxide tank on site. It simultaneously pumps the leftover
polyethylene coating
       material from Agi's tank into the proper storage tank. It then pumps
fresh water
       and new coated Powerballs into Agi's tank and prints out a receipt.
Agi grumbles
       about the high cost of potato chips and drives away. She is happy
once again as
       she drives into her world where the air is crisp and clean and easy
to breathe.
       The fuel station is serviced periodically by trucks which pick up
sodium hydroxide
       and polyethylene. These trucks deliver the caustic and polyethylene
to central
       plants that are already in existence. The hydroxide plants clean up
and ship the
       hydroxide to customers as usual. The polyethylene plants recycle the
polyethylene
       and return it to industry ( perhaps to be re-used in the
manufacturing of more
       Powerballs).
       A central plant could also be designed to accept both the hydroxide and
       polyethylene. A reliable supply of electricity would be the only
major raw material
       needed for the plant to recycle the NaOH into NaH (sodium hydride)
and oxygen.
       The oxygen could be sold or (heaven forbid) returned to the
atmosphere for
       people to breathe. The sodium hydride could be coated with
polyethylene and
       returned to the fuel station, once again ready for Agi to use.
       Still another scenario exists in which Agi installs a
hydroxide-to-Power Ball
       converter in her garage. Solar panels on Agi's house could provide
energy to
       remove the oxygen from the NaOH. The system could produce coated sodium
       hydride Powerballs for Agi's car without using anything other than
the sun! It
       would be a completely recyclable system and Agi would never need to buy
       Powerballs again! 




       Which Is Cheaper . . . Powerballs or
       Gasoline?


       If a larger corporation emerges which is capable of handling the
various issues
       surrounding the production, distribution and sale of Powerballs as a
fuel, the sales
       growth could be staggering. As the volumes of production increase and the
       demand grows for Powerball fuel, the manufacturing systems could
become very
       efficient and streamlined.
       Sodium is the least expensive of all metals and is the 4th most abundant
       element on the crust of our planet.
       The price for sodium produced on a large scale after the initial
equipment has been
       paid for will approximately be equal to the energy costs. The
theoretical energy
       required to produce 1 pound of sodium from NaCl is less than 3 KWH. 11.5
       pounds of sodium produce 1 pound of hydrogen in the reaction (NaH + H20 =
       NaOH + H2). 1 pound of hydrogen in a fuel cell @ 70% efficiency = 1
gallon of
       gasoline in an ICE @ 30% efficiency. Thus, the equivalent cost will
be less than
       34.5 KWH which at $.04 per KWH is only $1.38 per equivalent energy to a
       gallon of gasoline.
       The above analysis does not take into consideration any revenue from
the sale of
       the byproduct chlorine. It also does not take into account that the
waste hydroxide
       can be sold to industry. 11.5 pounds of Na will produce 20 pounds of
NaOH,
       which at the current cost of $.22 per pound means that you will
produce $4.40
       worth of hydroxide for each $1.38 of fuel. This means that for every
equivalent
       gallon of gasoline used in the vehicle (11.5 pounds of Na), a net
profit of more
       than $3.00 is realized, making the cost of fuel shockingly
inexpensive indeed!
       Still another impressive advantage of Powerball fuel over gasoline is
that it is
       recyclable. With a hydroxide-to-Powerball converter, the fuel can be
made from
       the waste anywhere and anytime with an adequate supply of electrical
energy. The
       option of reproducing fuel using only renewable energy sources such
as solar,
       wind, or micro-hydro, or OTEC is attractive for reasons of
independence, cleaner
       air, and an overall superior product. 




       Powerball Cars Are Better Than
       Gasoline Cars!


       A fuel-cell car running with a smooth, efficient electric motor is
inherently better
       than a gasoline combustion car. For starters, it is quieter.
Acceleration rates for
       state of the art electric motors are better than their gasoline
counterparts. There
       are far fewer moving parts--no pistons, crankshafts, seals, valves,
carburetors or
       timing chains to wear out--no messy gasoline or oil to worry about.
Fuel pumps,
       fuel filters, and exhaust pipes could become a thing of the past. No
oil slicks on all
       the driveways and parking lots around town. And most importantly: zero
       emissions from hydrocarbon fuels.
       A fuel-cell electric car powered by hydrogen made from Powerballs and
water
       could very well be the answer to clean up the air and reduce our
dependence of
       foreign oil. In addition, a Powerball-fuel cell car could provide
options that are not
       possible with gasoline engines. Consider that momentum regeneration
is usable in
       a fuel cell vehicle. Solar cells could also be used to supplement the
hydrogen
       supply on board the car. Powerballs could be produced using hundreds of
       conceivable energy sources. For instance, consider an exercise bike
that is
       connected to a small generator. While exercising it could be possible
to produce
       enough Powerballs to get you to the neighborhood shopping center! 




       Who Invented Powerballs?


       Powerball Industries (a non-profit-to-date company) originated the
concept of
       Powerballs and has produced hundreds of Powerballs using various
reactants and
       coatings. Powerball Industries holds the patent (pending) for the use
of the balls
       and for the concept of the hydrogen generator and skin removal
mechanism inside
       the Powerball/Water tank. And , of course, investment opportunities
are available.
       They might actually pay off in the long run, too. 




       DISCLAIMER!


       Although every effort was made to represent the facts accurately,
this concept
       touches upon many areas of study and the technical literature in
these areas is vast
       and growing rapidly. Some of the comments have been made with a bit of
       tongue-in-cheek humor, and except for the oil companies, I hope no
one takes
       offense. Please write with any suggestions or comments that might
help this
       technology flourish and grow to become a new source of energy for the
world. If
       enough skilled chemists, physicists, politicians, ecologists, and
businessmen come
       forward with a desire to make a difference...it can happen. 




       Powerball Industries 
       2095 West 2200 South 
       West Valley City, UT 84119 

       Phone: (801) 974-9120 
       Fax: (801) 972-5032 

       e-mail: powerball@theonlynet.com



       The previous is a concept paper only. The rough analysis describes an
alternative to
       the petroleum energy path for automobiles. Powerball Industries is
not pursuing this
       path from a business standpoint in any way. The concept is provided
from a
       theoretical viewpoint only to stimulate thought on Powerball
technology and its
       potential in real-world applications.

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