350 Miles on $28? Just Add Aluminum Gallium Alloy and Water
by Tim McGee, Helena, MT, USA on 08.28.07
Researchers at Purdue University (they always provide the best pictures) have refined a technique using aluminum gallium alloy (80% aluminum, 20% gallium), to wrestle hydrogen from water. The liberated hydrogen can be used on-site in a combustion engine, or even better, in a fuel cell. The advantage of this technology is that it removes the complications related to storing hydrogen as a gas, instead you simply add water.
The research, conducted by Jerry Woodall, Charles Allen and Jeffrey Ziebarthare, will be presented on Sept. 7 during the 2nd Energy Nano-technology International Conference in Santa Clara, California.
"It's a simple matter to convert ordinary internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen. All you have to do is replace the gasoline fuel injector with a hydrogen injector," Woodall said.
Woodall is exuberant about the possibilities, including a wide variety of applications from zero emission idling trucks, to whole hog replacement of energy for nuclear submarines.
"One reason maritime applications are especially appealing is that you don't have to haul water," Woodall said.
But back to the cars-
"Since standard industrial technology could be used to recycle our nearly pure alumina back to aluminum at 20 cents per pound, this technology would be competitive with gasoline," Woodall said. "Using aluminum, it would cost $70 at wholesale prices to take a 350-mile trip with a mid-size car equipped with a standard internal combustion engine. That compares with $66 for gasoline at $3.30 per gallon. If we used a 50 percent efficient fuel cell, taking the same trip using aluminum would cost $28."
Woodall has also given some thinking to how this product can be recycled, and used as part of an industrial system.
"This technology is feasible for commercial use," Woodall said. "The waste alumina can be recycled back into aluminum, and low-cost gallium is available as a waste product from companies that produce aluminum from the raw mineral bauxite. Enough aluminum exists in the United States to produce 100 trillion kilowatt hours of energy. That's enough energy to meet all the U.S. electric needs for 35 years. If impure gallium can be made for less than $10 a pound and used in an onboard system, there are enough known gallium reserves to run 1 billion cars."
It is not a silver bullet to our energy needs, but it may be an important part of our future energy systems. Of the four critical aspects of any energy system (Collection, Transmission, Storage, and Use) this technology has the potential to reach into many areas, disrupting current technologies and possibly creating a more sustainable future.
:: Purdue News
What happens to the galium?
I was concerned about that too. From later in the article, it's just the initial source material that has to be mined. Once it's in the system, "all" you need is energy inputs to recycle the spent alloy:
"Since standard industrial technology could be used to recycle our nearly pure alumina back to aluminum at 20 cents per pound, this technology would be competitive with gasoline," Woodall said. "Using aluminum, it would cost $70 at wholesale prices to take a 350-mile trip with a mid-size car equipped with a standard internal combustion engine. That compares with $66 for gasoline at $3.30 per gallon. If we used a 50 percent efficient fuel cell, taking the same trip using aluminum would cost $28."
Noble cause and all to create a better system for storing and using hydrogen, but one of the main disbenefits of this technology is that it keeps the consumer completely dependant on purchasing the fuel source. The consumer still has to purchase the aluminum fuel, just like gas, and at what appears to be a similar cost. It seems to me that a better system is the electrification of the transportation industry using electric cars with advanced li-ion batteries, with the ability for consumers to charge up using renewable power sources like PV's on their home or garage.....and at a lower cost thn gas or aluminum.
Could this catalytic approach lead to a path of easily removing sodium from sea water? If we can do that, one aspect of overpopulation could be addressed.
As for the nuclear submarines, well...there's always pedal power.
I have one bit of advice for the two young researchers in that picture...LOOK OUT!!! THERE IS PIRATE BEHIND YOU ABOUT TO STEAL YOUR WORK!!!
No not just a pirate. A pastafarian ye scurvy dog, aarghh!
While we would still rely on buying an energy source at near-gas prices, it would take our dependency off of other countries as it is stated that enough aluminum could easily come from the united states.
Guys, so what if the cost of the aluminum fuel is comparable to gasoline? If used in a fuel cell vehicle, we won't need nearly as much to go just as far. Kind of like having a car with gas mileage and power all in one that far exceeds anything we have today that is like that.
You can recreate this experiment using these simple steps at Instructables
http://www.instructables.com/id/SODA-CAN-HYDROGEN-GENERATOR/