The Secret of the Bloom Energy Server unraveled – and can be locally Reverse Engineered

The breakthrough by venture capitalist K.R. Sridar, CEO of Bloom Energy in developing what Leslie Stahl on “60 Minutes”, aired Sunday 21^st February 2010 refers to as “the Holy Grail” of power engineering is a Bloom Power Server, a fuel cell technology that is based on a semi permeable membrane made from pyrolized sand i.e. sand that has been heated and temperature controlled sintering under anaerobic (oxygen free, vacuum) conditions. The pyrolized sand tile is baked into the shape of a square and is reinforced with plastic to preventing it from cracking after the pyrolysis in the kiln due to physical stress.

The coatings on the sides of the fuel cell are Copper (I) Oxide, which is black in colour and Copper (II) Oxide, which is light green. Copper (I) Oxide is higher in the electrochemical series, thus it is the anode (-) while the Copper (II) Oxide is the cathode (+), which anyone with a knowledge in Inorganic Chemistry would understand.

These Copper (I) Oxide and Copper (II) Oxide coatings have to be deposited onto the surface using a linear accelerator that accelerates nano-particles of the respective chemicals and bombard the pyrolized sand tile, forming a thin layer that is also semi permeable. After making several of these tiles, they are stacked on top of each other, with iron placed in-between to complete the circuit and form a voltaic pile, thereby increasing the voltage output.

Electricity, which is DC (Direct Current) is generated when oxygen is pumped in on the Copper (I) Oxide anode (-), oxidizing it to Copper (II) Oxide temporarily while Natural Gas i.e. gaseous LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) is pumped on the Copper (II) Oxide cathode (+) side, which passes through the semi permeable membrane and reacts with the oxygen, which now has a charge of -1, thus being reduced to -2 i.e. an excess of electrons. This O^2- is then oxidized back to oxygen by the Copper (II) Oxide cathode (+), thereby completing the circuit, effectively a redox reaction, typical of most fuel cells.

This cell differs though, as when the reaction is stopped the Copper (I) Oxide anode oxidization to Copper (II) Oxide is temporary, as it is only acting as a catalyst and as such is not used up in the reaction, hence the tiles can last forever with no need to change them due to any possible buildup of Copper (II) Oxide on the anode (-) side. The fuel cells can be connected in series to increase voltage output and in parallel to increase current output and an inverter used to convert the DC (Direct Current) to AC (Alternating Current) used by most electrical devices

Advantages of the system are that it is basically an electrochemical redox reaction between the Natural gas (or any other combustible fuel) and Oxygen which produces CO₂ and H₂O, the only byproducts of the reaction, which is 95% efficient, as heat helps to perpetuate the reaction and that the material used to make it are cheap an abundant i.e. copper, iron, sand, etc..

The disadvantages of the system is that the semi permeable membrane, made of sand, is brittle, and thus has to be kept in a fixed position, so as to avoid shock that can break the tiles, which have a very low tensile strength and are prone to breakage. Also production of pyrolized sand tiles as well as linear accelerated deposition of nano-particles of Copper (I) Oxide and Copper (II) Oxide is a very expensive process, which would explain the initial price tag for a 100 KW system mentioned in the report of US$700,000 to US$800,000 for a full setup.

Currently the “Bloom Boxes” or Bloom Power Servers as they are formerly called are being tested at Google, E-Bay, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola and have a cost recovery of three (3) to five (5) year after installation. The research is supported by such luminaries as Larry Page, one of the founding members of Google and retired General Colin Powell, who is a senior board member on the Bloom Energy Board of directors, a natural link to the United States of America Military.

The US Military who will be more than interested in the usage of this device in the battlefield aside from the obvious fact that it has the potential to replace Utility Companies by the decentralization of power production for house across the United States of America – and eventually the whole world within the next ten (10) years.

For more news on this impressive marvel of electrochemical engineering, read the article “Bloom energy unveils fuel cell of the future”, published Thu Feb 25, 9:01 am ET by Glenn Chapman, Yahoo News! AFP or Google the news on Youtube using “Bloom box” as the search term or you can consult the following lecturers at the University of the West Indies:

1. Professor Robert Lancashire (Inorganic Chemistry)
2. Dr. Anthony Greenaway and Dr. Michael Coley (Analytical Chemistry)
3. Professor Willem Mulder (Electrochemistry) 

All of the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of the West Indies!