Metal as fuel? These Canadian scientists are working to make it happen
Research into new fuel technology could provide cleaner alternative to power vehicles
By Nicole Mortillaro, CBC News Posted: Apr 16, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Apr 16, 2017 5:00 AM ET

Manticore wrote:Hmmm... Powered by a thermite bomb. Wonder what the pistons and cylinders would be made of.

Manticore wrote:Stirling engines are amazing. Unfortunately, to get reasonable efficiency, the internal pressure has to be as high as possible. Sealing crankshaft bearings becomes a major problem. Best bet is probably a version with internal alternators (then you only have to seal the wires). Look up free piston Stirling engines for some examples of just how complicated it can get.

theropod wrote:

Manticore wrote:Stirling engines are amazing. Unfortunately, to get reasonable efficiency, the internal pressure has to be as high as possible. Sealing crankshaft bearings becomes a major problem. Best bet is probably a version with internal alternators (then you only have to seal the wires). Look up free piston Stirling engines for some examples of just how complicated it can get.

Yep, having built a couple from junk I know all this. If the Stirling is encased in a sealed container as you describe the working gas can be something like helium which really ups the efficiency. Free piston versions are indeed complicated.

RS

Manticore wrote:

theropod wrote:

Manticore wrote:Stirling engines are amazing. Unfortunately, to get reasonable efficiency, the internal pressure has to be as high as possible. Sealing crankshaft bearings becomes a major problem. Best bet is probably a version with internal alternators (then you only have to seal the wires). Look up free piston Stirling engines for some examples of just how complicated it can get.

Yep, having built a couple from junk I know all this. If the Stirling is encased in a sealed container as you describe the working gas can be something like helium which really ups the efficiency. Free piston versions are indeed complicated.

RS

Nice one! Got any photos?

Macdoc wrote:sounds like an impossibility .....read on..

Metal as fuel? These Canadian scientists are working to make it happen
Research into new fuel technology could provide cleaner alternative to power vehicles
By Nicole Mortillaro, CBC News Posted: Apr 16, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Apr 16, 2017 5:00 AM ET

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/scien ... -1.4058398

Metal fuel is created when a metal is ground into a powder, which is then fed into a burner. It's so efficient that it releases as much energy as gasoline does — but more energy and heat is generated per litre of iron powder, compared to one litre of gas.

How about a video?

Made from various junk. The displacer is floral arrangement foam, and the displacer chamber is a coleman lantern globe. The bearings are from dead hard drives. The flywheel is a masonry blade for a circular saw. The hot/cold end plates are pieces of one of those rapid thawing boards (just aluminum).

Stupid idea.
Iron may have the energy content of hydrocarbons, but is 8 times the density.
For the same amount of energy as a 50l tank you'd need 400kg iron.
Worse is that once you burn it, you still have to carry it as spent fuel for recycling. It will weigh even more - 550kg.

Macdoc wrote:

Stupid idea.
Iron may have the energy content of hydrocarbons, but is 8 times the density.
For the same amount of energy as a 50l tank you'd need 400kg iron.
Worse is that once you burn it, you still have to carry it as spent fuel for recycling. It will weigh even more - 550kg.

added weight is not necessarily a penalty issue as it carries additional kinetic energy as long as it does not impact drag and rolling resistance it can be a plus.

In stop and go traffic weight is an issue unless there is regenerative capture. That's why a hybrid would work well and speaking of 400 kg ...isn't that what a EV battery weighs?

In addition one assumes an iron fill up implies the iron oxide gets dumped.

Macdoc wrote:

Stupid idea.
Iron may have the energy content of hydrocarbons, but is 8 times the density.
For the same amount of energy as a 50l tank you'd need 400kg iron.
Worse is that once you burn it, you still have to carry it as spent fuel for recycling. It will weigh even more - 550kg.

added weight is not necessarily a penalty issue as it carries additional kinetic energy as long as it does not impact drag and rolling resistance it can be a plus.

In stop and go traffic weight is an issue unless there is regenerative capture. That's why a hybrid would work well and speaking of 400 kg ...isn't that what a EV battery weighs?

In addition one assumes an iron fill up implies the iron oxide gets dumped.

The accidental discovery of a novel aluminium alloy that reacts with water in a highly unusual way may be the first step to reviving the struggling hydrogen economy. It could offer a convenient and portable source of hydrogen for fuel cells and other applications, potentially transforming the energy market and providing an alternative to batteries and liquid fuels.

“The important aspect of the approach is that it lets you make very compact systems,” says Anthony Kucernak, who studies fuel cells at Imperial College London and wasn’t involved with the research. “That would be very useful for systems which need to be very light or operate for long periods on hydrogen, where the use of hydrogen stored in a cylinder is prohibitive.”

The discovery came in January, when researchers at the US Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, were working on a new, high-strength alloy, says physicist Anit Giri. When they poured water on it during routine testing, it started bubbling as it gave off hydrogen.

That doesn’t normally happen to aluminium. Usually, when exposed to water, it quickly oxidises, forming a protective barrier that puts a stop to any further reaction. But this alloy just kept reacting. The team had stumbled across the solution to a decades-old problem.

Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean, green fuel, but it is difficult to store and move around because of its bulk. “The problem with hydrogen is always transportation and pressurisation,” says Giri.

Calilasseia wrote:Meanwhile, if you're looking for a way for metal to be used as a source of energy, try this ...

Courtesy of New Scientist ...

The accidental discovery of a novel aluminium alloy that reacts with water in a highly unusual way may be the first step to reviving the struggling hydrogen economy. It could offer a convenient and portable source of hydrogen for fuel cells and other applications, potentially transforming the energy market and providing an alternative to batteries and liquid fuels.

“The important aspect of the approach is that it lets you make very compact systems,” says Anthony Kucernak, who studies fuel cells at Imperial College London and wasn’t involved with the research. “That would be very useful for systems which need to be very light or operate for long periods on hydrogen, where the use of hydrogen stored in a cylinder is prohibitive.”

The discovery came in January, when researchers at the US Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, were working on a new, high-strength alloy, says physicist Anit Giri. When they poured water on it during routine testing, it started bubbling as it gave off hydrogen.

That doesn’t normally happen to aluminium. Usually, when exposed to water, it quickly oxidises, forming a protective barrier that puts a stop to any further reaction. But this alloy just kept reacting. The team had stumbled across the solution to a decades-old problem.

Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean, green fuel, but it is difficult to store and move around because of its bulk. “The problem with hydrogen is always transportation and pressurisation,” says Giri.