Bloom Box

[ErikH]

Anyone heard see this episode? Tomorrow they are going to announce their product officially.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...in;contentBody

[Europhyllia]

Yes! I saw that. Cool that it works so well for big organizations like Ebay, etc.

[Big_Pun]

very cool i want a bloom box now, hopefully the big companies dont buy him out and do away with it, like the big oil companies buying up all the corn to keep ethenal production expensive

[Bill S]

What everyone seems to forget, is that it REQUIRES FUEL. Just like other generators. So, you move the generator from Calavaras Lake to your home, that's all. And our neighborhood doesn't have gas.

[Bill S]

Yes! I saw that. Cool that it works so well for big organizations like Ebay, etc.

OK, so ebay bought like 8 of them, at $800K each = $6.4M, just to save $100K. That's a 1.5% return. Even with tax breaks, that's 3%. Not so good...

[Europhyllia]

I realize that it still converts fuel into energy (I used to be involved in the planning and construction of power plants and fuel related large industrial projects ;) ) and it's not cost effective at this time but I do think that the concept of the bloom box could be expanded into something really phenomenal. Something to build on.
I also believe that the cheapest solution is not always the best value in the long run.

[corruption]

I think where it gets interesting is its adaptability to different fuel sources -- this leads me to believe as biofuel production methods become more solidified, that the cost will indeed come down... Either way, its still interesting technology, even if its not feasible just yet

-Justin

[Europhyllia]

I agree with Justin (as usual. lol).
It's the different fuel sources that make it interesting. Calaveras Lake happens to be a coal fired plant. Even with current AQCS it's way 'dirtier' than other fuel sources. A little more important to people like me who live just a few miles from it, a little less important perhaps to people living on the northside of SA, but it's still going to affect anybody's environment long term.
Doesn't even have to biofuel. Natural gas would already be much cleaner than coal.
Ideally though they'd make it to run on horse manure -then I'd be all set. lol

[ErikH]

It uses half of the gas that a power plant currently uses, so that's 50% in savings to the consumer, less the cost of the box at 3 grand. The major companies are not using them 100%, so their ROI is less on the frontside. Also, in CA they get all the Green Energy tax breaks and subsidizing, further driving down the overall cost of the product.

I think if it uses 50% less of the gas with no combustion, it's worthwhile to check out. What I want to know is the byproduct of the reaction that is caused to generate the energy. It has to create some type of waste?

My other concern is how much oxygen it uses.

I still say the best most natural way to get the carbon out of our air is through planktonic blooms. Stir up some detritus, make some planktonic life, absorb some Co2. Currently the oceans are what really have an affect on Co2 absorbtion, not trees.

Either way, the internets have brought us to a pinnacle in our society. So much is being REdiscovered these days, and that is phenomenal.

Have y'all seen the air car? The motor in that baby is a phenom too! It's an air powered piston that drives it. Well, they can use the compressed air, to run a generator. That generator compresses air, thus refilling itself. Perpetual Motion is within our grasp. That's probably what they will figure out on 12-21-2012!

[Big_Pun]

there are actually 6 plants on calaveras 2x420 megawatt natural gas 2x440 megawatt coal, 1x550 megawatt coal, 1x700 megawatt coal, my Dad is a control operator for cps for the past 25 years, they have all kinds of scrubbers they just recently added to meet EPA standards, but it seems like they are always adding stuff