Genepax: Difference between revisions
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{{nihongo|'''Genepax'''|株式会社ジェネパックス|Kabushiki-kaisha Jenepakkusu}} is a [[Japanese]] [[corporation]] that claims to have created a [[car]] which can run on nothing but [[water]].<ref name = "reuters">[http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84561&; Water-fuel car unveiled in Japan]. Accessed June 14, 2008.</ref> According to the company, a [[proprietary]] unit, a type of [[membrane electrode assembly]] (MEA), breaks [[water]] apart into [[hydrogen]] and [[oxygen]] using a [[chemical reaction]], which provides [[fuel]] for a [[hydrogen]] [[fuel cell]] to run the [[car]].<ref name = "Fuel Cell Today>[http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/news/articles/2008-06/Genepax-unveils-water-energy-fuel-cell Genepax unveils water energy fuel cell system]. Accessed June 14, 2008.</ref> |
{{nihongo|'''Genepax'''|株式会社ジェネパックス|Kabushiki-kaisha Jenepakkusu}} is a [[Japanese]] [[corporation]] that claims to have created a [[car]] which can run on nothing but [[water]].<ref name = "reuters">[http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84561&; Water-fuel car unveiled in Japan]. Accessed June 14, 2008.</ref> According to the company, a [[proprietary]] unit, a type of [[membrane electrode assembly]] (MEA), breaks [[water]] apart into [[hydrogen]] and [[oxygen]] using a [[chemical reaction]], which provides [[fuel]] for a [[hydrogen]] [[fuel cell]] to run the [[car]].<ref name = "Fuel Cell Today>[http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/news/articles/2008-06/Genepax-unveils-water-energy-fuel-cell Genepax unveils water energy fuel cell system]. Accessed June 14, 2008.</ref> |
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Currently, the Genepax product appears to violate the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]]. Energy must be supplied to break the water into hydrogen and oxygen to produce the hydrogen fuel for the [[fuel cell]]. Oxidizing the hydrogen within the [[fuel cell]] can at best produce only as much energy as it took to break apart the water in the first place, leaving no energy left to power the car. Yet the company claims that water is all that is needed to make the car go.<br /><br /> |
Currently, the Genepax product appears to violate the [[First Law of Thermodynamics|first]] and/or the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics|second]] [[laws of thermodynamics|law of thermodynamics]]. Energy must be supplied to break the water into hydrogen and oxygen to produce the hydrogen fuel for the [[fuel cell]]. Oxidizing the hydrogen within the [[fuel cell]] can at best produce only as much energy as it took to break apart the water in the first place, leaving no energy left to power the car. Yet the company claims that water is all that is needed to make the car go.<br /><br /> |
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== Speculation == |
== Speculation == |
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A report in TechOn magazine states that a "well-known process to produce hydrogen from water" is employed and that "This process is allegedly similar to the mechanism that produces hydrogen by a reaction of metal hydride and water."<ref name="TechOn">[http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080613/153276/ New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air'] Accessed June 15, 2008.</ref> |
A report in TechOn magazine states that a "well-known process to produce hydrogen from water" is employed and that "This process is allegedly similar to the mechanism that produces hydrogen by a reaction of metal hydride and water."<ref name="TechOn">[http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080613/153276/ New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air'] Accessed June 15, 2008.</ref> |
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It is well known that certain metal hydrides will react with water to produce hydrogen<ref name=patent>[http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7179443.html Powder metal hydride hydrogen generator] Accessed June 15, 2008.</ref>—which could in turn be used to power the car. The problem is that the metal hydride is the "fuel"—not the water—because it is consumed by the process of reacting with the water. Eventually the car would need to be refilled with more metal hydride—and the [[second |
It is well known that certain metal hydrides will react with water to produce hydrogen<ref name=patent>[http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7179443.html Powder metal hydride hydrogen generator] Accessed June 15, 2008.</ref>—which could in turn be used to power the car. The problem is that the metal hydride is the "fuel"—not the water—because it is consumed by the process of reacting with the water. Eventually the car would need to be refilled with more metal hydride—and the [[First Law of Thermodynamics|first]] and [[Second Law of Thermodynamics|second]] [[laws of thermodynamics]] guarantee that the energy cost of producing the hydride would be greater than the energy produced to drive the car. |
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An alternative process for producing hydrogen from water uses a [[Rhenium]] [[catalyst]], but requires [[organosilane]] compounds as an additional fuel and produces [[silanol]] compounds as a byproduct<ref name="Scientific American">[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=new-catalyst-produces-hyd New Catalyst Produces Hydrogen from Water] Accessed June 15, 2008.</ref>. This also conflicts with Genepax's claims of water being the only fuel and the only product. |
An alternative process for producing hydrogen from water uses a [[Rhenium]] [[catalyst]], but requires [[organosilane]] compounds as an additional fuel and produces [[silanol]] compounds as a byproduct<ref name="Scientific American">[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=new-catalyst-produces-hyd New Catalyst Produces Hydrogen from Water] Accessed June 15, 2008.</ref>. This also conflicts with Genepax's claims of water being the only fuel and the only product. |
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The claims made by Genepax that their product produces useable [[energy]] to propel the car, requiring only water as a fuel and creating only water as exhaust are fundamentally [[consistency|inconsistent]] with the [[scientific community]]'s current understanding of the [[universe]]. The exhaust product could be routed directly into the fuel tank to power the car for an indefinite time period with no further intervention until a mechanical breakdown of the car occurs - until parts of the car wear out. |
The claims made by Genepax that their product produces useable [[energy]] to propel the car, requiring only water as a fuel and creating only water as exhaust are fundamentally [[consistency|inconsistent]] with the [[scientific community]]'s current understanding of the [[universe]]. The exhaust product could be routed directly into the fuel tank to power the car for an indefinite time period with no further intervention until a mechanical breakdown of the car occurs - until parts of the car wear out. |
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This direct violation of the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]] would effectively make the Genepax product a [[perpetual motion]] machine and would have probably granted the developer a well-deserved [[Nobel Prize]]. |
This direct violation of the [[First Law of Thermodynamics|first]] and [[Second Law of Thermodynamics|second]] [[laws of thermodynamics]] would effectively make the Genepax product a [[perpetual motion]] machine and would have probably granted the developer a well-deserved [[Nobel Prize]]. |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 16:02, 20 June 2008
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Water-fuelled car, Talk:Water-fuelled car#Merger proposal and [[:{{subst:06/19/08}}|{{subst:06/19/08}}]]. (Discuss) |
| Company type | R & D |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 10, 2006 |
| Headquarters | Osaka , Japan |
Key people | Kiyoshi Hirasawa, President |
| Products | Manufacture and sales of electricity generation systems R & D of electricity generation technologies |
| Total equity | 43 million yen (approx. 400,000 USD) |
| Website | http://www.genepax.co.jp/en/ |
Genepax (株式会社ジェネパックス, Kabushiki-kaisha Jenepakkusu) is a Japanese corporation that claims to have created a car which can run on nothing but water.[1] According to the company, a proprietary unit, a type of membrane electrode assembly (MEA), breaks water apart into hydrogen and oxygen using a chemical reaction, which provides fuel for a hydrogen fuel cell to run the car.[2]
Currently, the Genepax product appears to violate the first and/or the second law of thermodynamics. Energy must be supplied to break the water into hydrogen and oxygen to produce the hydrogen fuel for the fuel cell. Oxidizing the hydrogen within the fuel cell can at best produce only as much energy as it took to break apart the water in the first place, leaving no energy left to power the car. Yet the company claims that water is all that is needed to make the car go.
Speculation
There has been much speculation about the process by which the vehicle extracts energy from water. Some speculate the car is actually powered by the stock electric system of this model of car, others speculate that it is a combustion based vehicle.
A report in TechOn magazine states that a "well-known process to produce hydrogen from water" is employed and that "This process is allegedly similar to the mechanism that produces hydrogen by a reaction of metal hydride and water."[3]
It is well known that certain metal hydrides will react with water to produce hydrogen[4]—which could in turn be used to power the car. The problem is that the metal hydride is the "fuel"—not the water—because it is consumed by the process of reacting with the water. Eventually the car would need to be refilled with more metal hydride—and the first and second laws of thermodynamics guarantee that the energy cost of producing the hydride would be greater than the energy produced to drive the car.
An alternative process for producing hydrogen from water uses a Rhenium catalyst, but requires organosilane compounds as an additional fuel and produces silanol compounds as a byproduct[5]. This also conflicts with Genepax's claims of water being the only fuel and the only product.
The corporation's Japanese website[6] explains the chemical process as having water as both a reactant and a product. Furthermore, diagrams on the site do not reference any additional fuel source to power the hydrolysis process.
Press Releases
Genepax demonstrated the car in the Japanese city of Osaka on 12 June,2008. Genepax Claims that one liter (2.1 pints) of any kind of water—rain, river or sea (even tea, stated the press release)—is all that is needed to run the engine for about an hour at a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). However, their claims that a 300 watt (0.4 horsepower) engine could drive the car (the weight of which has not been specified) at this speed and for this duration despite wind resistance / Automobile drag coefficients and other energy-draining forces warrants further investigation.
The demonstration vehicle was a Takeoka Reva[7], a small electric car weighing between 740 and 960 kg whose manufacturer claims a range of 85 km running on its standard set of batteries, which take 8 hours to charge off the mains at 100 V on a 15 A circuit.
Should Genepax validate their claims, no infrastructure would be required to recharge the car's batteries, which is usually the case for most electric cars. The vehicle will supposedly continue to run for as long "as you have water to top up with from time to time." [8]. As the residual product of the engine is also water, this would in principle lead to the development of a perpetual motion engine, in which the exhaust product, water, could be fed directly back into the system as fuel.
Criticism
The claims made by Genepax that their product produces useable energy to propel the car, requiring only water as a fuel and creating only water as exhaust are fundamentally inconsistent with the scientific community's current understanding of the universe. The exhaust product could be routed directly into the fuel tank to power the car for an indefinite time period with no further intervention until a mechanical breakdown of the car occurs - until parts of the car wear out.
This direct violation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics would effectively make the Genepax product a perpetual motion machine and would have probably granted the developer a well-deserved Nobel Prize.
References
- ^ Water-fuel car unveiled in Japan. Accessed June 14, 2008.
- ^ Genepax unveils water energy fuel cell system. Accessed June 14, 2008.
- ^ New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air' Accessed June 15, 2008.
- ^ Powder metal hydride hydrogen generator Accessed June 15, 2008.
- ^ New Catalyst Produces Hydrogen from Water Accessed June 15, 2008.
- ^ Genepax Co., Ltd. Accessed June 15, 2008.
- ^ REVA Classic Takeoka vehicle Accessed June 16, 2008.
- ^ Petrol pricey? Japanese invent car that runs on water Accessed June 15, 2008.
See also
External Links
- Genepax Co., LTD. (Japanese) Accessed June 15, 2008.
- Genepax CO., LTD. (English) Accessed June 15, 2008.
- Video Link of Genepax's Water Powered Car from Reuters. Accessed June 15, 2008.
- Genepax unveils water energy fuel cell system From Fuel Cell Today. Accessed June 15, 2008.
- New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air' From Tech On. Accessed June 15, 2008.
- Japanese company Genepax unviels car that runs on Water Accessed June 15, 2008.