Clean energy claim: Aluminum in your car tank
- Thread starter nelg
- Start date
Why not extract the hydrogen before dumping into hydrogen powered cars...Water is benign and dense. Hydrogen is neither.
What is swank about this solution is the ability to remove carbon from the cycle entirely.
Solar/Wind/Nuclear to convert the alluminum oxide to aluminum. The combustion process is 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O (i.e. water).
I wonder how long the pellets remain viable, or if you have to exchange them regularly.
What is swank about this solution is the ability to remove carbon from the cycle entirely.
Solar/Wind/Nuclear to convert the alluminum oxide to aluminum. The combustion process is 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O (i.e. water).
I wonder how long the pellets remain viable, or if you have to exchange them regularly.
So just ease of transferring the H2... fair enough.
Hm... if they're adding aluminum to water, you'd be getting alumina. So you'll need a system of removal and replacement. I'm not sure if the hydrogen gets converted to gas immediately or if it's released in ionic form first. The acidity is something to think about in that scenario.
edit: assuming pure aluminum tablets.
Even so, the oxidation will form a layer over the pellet that makes the aluminum underneath useless for reaction. In the acidic environment, the alumina would dissolve eventually though.
Hm... if they're adding aluminum to water, you'd be getting alumina. So you'll need a system of removal and replacement. I'm not sure if the hydrogen gets converted to gas immediately or if it's released in ionic form first. The acidity is something to think about in that scenario.
edit: assuming pure aluminum tablets.
Even so, the oxidation will form a layer over the pellet that makes the aluminum underneath useless for reaction. In the acidic environment, the alumina would dissolve eventually though.
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Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.
Legend
One of the problems of hydrogen powering vehicles is that it's difficult to store and move as a fuel. Generally high pressures are required, even in the vehicle tank, and the refuelling system to seal to it safely under pressure. You can't just pour hydrogen into a car tank like you can with gasoline.
If you can make the hydrogen you need directly in the vehicle from water, that cuts out a lot of hassles, and "ease of transferring" makes the whole idea of hydrogen powered vehicles much more practical.
I suppose I was thinking more of having hydrogen tanks that you could swap, but yeah that would be a dumb idea for practicality.
Yeah, seems like a pretty cool idea - using two common, benign and extremely recyclable substances (water and Al) as the energy storage mechanics as opposed to super-messy batteries or hard to handle pure hydrogen.
Read closer. Its not "free energy". Its an effecient transport mechanism.
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Blazkowicz
Legend
I suppose I was thinking more of having hydrogen tanks that you could swap, but yeah that would be a dumb idea for practicality.
sure, moving those tanks would be a pain. Aluminium pellets might be better.. at least you can unload and replace your 150Kg of pellets with a shovel
Sounds somewhat dangerous if it cannot be denaturated or be used in a very coarse form. Fireworks, bombs, thermite and solid rocket fuels often make good use of aluminium as fuel because it's so tremendously energy dense.
Not that I expect a sudden rash of terrorism, college kids will have a lot of fun playing around with it though. (And that's not even to mention the portability of the hydrogen source. Expect a sudden outbreak of strange flying objects)
Not that I expect a sudden rash of terrorism, college kids will have a lot of fun playing around with it though. (And that's not even to mention the portability of the hydrogen source. Expect a sudden outbreak of strange flying objects)
Speaking of odd-ball engine technologies: The Steam-o-lene engine! http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/c1609351d9092110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
2Al + 3H2O --> 3H2 + Al2O3 + heatAn egg-producing wool-milk-pig, heh? Separate the H2 from O(2) and use it for the combustion in an entirely closed system, then recycle the water produced by combustion, yay!
It just separates the H2 from the O2, but the O isn't free, so you need oxygen injected into the system. Also, eventually the aluminum will completely oxidize and the process can't continue.
Actually, looking at the equation, it seems like you would need new aluminum pellets for each 'tank' of water. If a tank of water only gets you 300 miles, then it's got a long way to go before its viable.
Oh boy! Now you can throw your used soda cans into your gas tank
Seriously though check this out. Maybe it deserves a new thread. Hydrogen from starch.
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000456
I was getting the impression hydrogen was a pipe dream, but we just might get there afterall.
Seriously though check this out. Maybe it deserves a new thread. Hydrogen from starch.
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000456
I was getting the impression hydrogen was a pipe dream, but we just might get there afterall.
