Safer Natural Gas storage at a data center site

Natural Gas or methane gas from a landfill is a possibility to provide on site power generation for data centers via fuel cells, but the storage tanks to supply days worth of energy at a site can be a risk.  As natural gas is looked for a fuel for cars, safer storage is a priority.

Going through the National Renewable Energy Lab site I found a presentation on the current efforts on Hydrogen storage.

One easy starting point for is University of Missouri, so I drilled into what Professor Peter Pfeifer from the University is doing.  And, found this article.

Fuel of the Next Generation of Clean Vehicles Is in Missouri's Soil

MU researchers developing more practical natural gas storage tanks using corncob waste, landfills

April 9, 2009

Story Contact:  Kelsey Jackson, (573) 882-8353, JacksonKN@missouri.edu

COLUMBIA, Mo. -Natural-gas-fueled cars would be more eco-friendly and cost efficient than current petroleum-fueled cars. However, natural-gas-fueled vehicles face a few road blocks before they can cruise on every U.S. highway. The Alliance for Collaborative Research in Alternative Fuel Technology (ALL-CRAFT), a partnership among the University of Missouri, the Midwest Research Institute (MRI) and nine other institutes, is working to make natural-gas-fueled cars a reality by using existing Missouri resources, such as corncob waste and methane from landfills.

"Missouri's corn can supply raw material for natural gas tanks for all the cars in the United States," said Peter Pfeifer, professor and chair of the Department of Physics in the MU College of Arts and Science. "The recovery of natural gas from Missouri's landfills would turn a pollutant into renewable energy and could provide an opportunity for economic growth in rural areas."