Will the Bloom Box Eliminate Base Load Power Plants?

Wait and see.

We're not that close yet.

Obstacles to overcome are still the cost and also supply the distribution of the fuel(s).

They'll get plenty of information from the pilot runs and these will be determinant for further domestication.

Right now, it will cost a lot more than $3,000 for the box- current goals is eventually to get to $3,000 per kW (compared to $3500-$4000 for coal, $5,000 per kW for wind and $7,500 per kW for solar.

Each Bloom Box makes 100kW- that is a goal of $300,000 a box and it operates at about 60% efficiency.

Most sites will need more than 100 kW.

A CoGeneraton system sold by another company operates at 99% annual efficiency (last summer, 105F entering air left the unit at 84F) and it produces 300 kVA of power AND 2.1 million BTUs of high grade heat for $2,800 per kW with 80% reduction in CO2 releases and 95% reduction in NOx, compared to normal electricity and thermal operation. The high thermal efficiency generally replaces boilers so the electricity is free.

The system runs on any gaseous fuel- natural, LP, landfill, digester methane, or vaporized liquids like ethanol, bio-diesel or bio-kerosene. It also produces 380,000 gallons of near-potable water annually.

The unit typically has a payback of about 2 years.

Can you please name that other company?

In order to maintain the "non-commercial" goal of the CR4 system, a description of the product is located in the "Commercial Space" forum thread with the pathfinder tag- Lighthouse CoGen.

makes coco and tea as well?

Kind of a loose description - sounds like the president hyping one of his programs.

80% reduction in CO2? as compared to what - a coal thermal plant?

99% efficiency? doubt that one for sure!

Well- you have to mix the hot water with appropriate product for either coco or tea AFTER the heating process.

80% is based on total releases for both general mix of electricity in the US- 50% coal, 30% natural gas, 20% nuke AND the releases from boilers producing thermal energy that has been displaced (natural gas makes CO2 as well, just not as much per MMBTU). When you look at CO2 produced by generator compared to electrical power plants, that is one level of savings. After you have "used up" the CO2 for the electric power, any other CO2 savings from the recovered heat is TOTALLY added to the calculation since you already counted the "new" CO2 with the electricity.

RE- 99% efficiency. It is THERMAL efficiency, not power generation efficiency. About 30%-33% of the thermal input becomes electricity- higher efficiency at colder inlet temperatures. Depending on the exhaust leaving air temperature- compared to the inlet air temperature- you can calculate the thermal recovery rate of the system. Put them together and you get total "thermal" efficiency- what did you get for what you put in.

Last summer, we observed 105F inlet temperature with 84F discharge air- all the fuel and 21F of 4000 SCFM of air went into the process. If we had not used another system the preheated the incoming water using another form of waste heat, the leaving air would have been 44F.

The only ones excited about the Boom (bloom) Box are the VCs with money in it and others that have their hopes pinned on it.

I have read about other fuel cells already on the market that are better established and have better specs.

Bloom just has Vinod Khosla pushing it - he knows zero outside of the valley and despite all his investments is a engineering lightweight that chatters a lot. I look at it as if he is just throwing money against the wall to see what will stick.

His ethanol/methanol investments are generally just as bad and he hypes them to the max as well.

There was a CR4 thread on this a few months ago. Unfortunately, it was mostly marketing hype. Fuel consumption vs. electrical output was not specified, nor were dimensions of the package. Such foolishness would not encourage me to buy or invest.

How much did the ones cost that Google or FedEx, or whatever companies that were using them, in the Bloom Box video that was broadcast earlier this year? And how are they doing?

I have seen no information on costing for those parties - They could well have been one dollar. The 'sale' was what Bloom needed in order to get attention.

TH VCs want to cash out now that they realize they are riding a donkey rather than a race horse.