The Bloom Box is a solid oxide fuel cell made by Bloom Energy, of Sunnyvale, California, that uses liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons (such as gasoline, diesel or propane produced from fossil or bio sources) to generate electricity on the site where it will be used.
The Bloom Box (now called the Bloom Energy Server) uses thin white ceramic plates (100mm × 100mm) which are made by baking common beach sand, and each ceramic plate is coated with a secret green ink (anode) on one side and another secret black ink (cathode) on the other side. According to the San Jose Mercury News, “Bloom’s secret technology apparently lies in the proprietary green ink that acts as the anode and the black ink that acts as the cathode.” Wired reports that the secret ingredient may be yttria-stabilized zirconia based upon a 2006 patent filing (7,572,530) that was granted to Bloom in 2009. To save money the Bloom Energy Server uses inexpensive metal alloy plates as a fast ion conductor between the two ceramic plates, instead of platinum.
What this means is a cheap, eco-friendly option for electricity. Bloom says that within 10 years, he hopes to have a model available that will be able to fit in a person’s backyard or basement and power their home.
Along the way, the engineers discovered a problem. Some of their Bloom Boxes were breaking down and they didn’t know why. Upon further inspection, the engineers realized the air filters were clogged. The Bloom Box works by pulling air into the box where it mixes with the fuel and thus creates energy. If the air filters are dirty and clogged and air can’t get inside the boxes, then there will be no energy being produced. All Bloom had to do was change out the air filter and the Box started working again. Even the most advanced technology needs a simple air filter to help clean the air and keep it working.
A lesson learned in air filtration.
Tags: air filters, bloom box, clean energy