From fumes to fuel

Waste paint exhaust can now become clean electric power, thanks to the Fumes-to-Fuel system by Ford (www.ford.com) and Detroit Edison. The system captures the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paint fumes and concentrates them into a mixture of hydrocarbons. When fed into a reformer, the mixture turns into a hydrogen-rich gas, which is then fed into a stack of solid oxide fuel cells where hydrogen and oxygen react, creating electricity. Installed at the Ford's Dearborn Assembly Plant Paint Shop, the system pilot reportedly generates 5,000 W of electricity.