ohbw

Paul, you might give some thought to designing those nuke-plant aluminum recycling centers. This sounds pretty interesting.<ul><li><a href="http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070515WoodallHydrogen.html">Fill it from the garden hose and go?</a></li></ul>

skiracer

The USA MUST accept the fact that Nuclear energy has be a part of any viable future energy plans. In reality, if you look at the energy cycle of this process, it is essentially making nuclear (or wind) power portable using aluminum as the carrier. I really don't think there is enough wind that can be economically farmed to meet all our future energy needs: Nuke has to play a role.

JimR

Wind just doesn't cut it, in big quantities, for any number of reasons. Not the least of which, is that the Audobon Society people go ape**** due to all the bird strikes. And justifiably so.

ryoung

The overall efficiency of a gasoline powered internal combustion engine is ~33%, about the same as [actually very slightly better than] the overall efficiency of a battery powered electic car using electricity generated in a coal-fired plant.

Compared to an electric car, his process inserts several steps ...

1. Use electricity to produce aluminum

2. Use the aluminum to produce hydogen

3. Use the hydrogen to produce electricity in a fuel cell.

4. Recycle the aluminum oxide back to aluminum

Since he only saves the inefficiency of recharging an electric cars batteries, I don't see how his idea can possibly be practical.

ryoung

Aluminum smelters are often located near cheap sources of hydroelectric power. Even I believe we have enough dams in this country.

skiracer

That and you don't have to replace the batteries, just refill with more Alimuinum/Gallium. Overall a VERY electrical energy intensive process, and one that I would like to see the liftime energy efficiency calculations on.

JimR

I've been to Alcoa's main plant in Marysville, TN. Built there because of cheap Tennessee Valley Authority hydropower.

It was pretty damn impressive. Sawevery thing from the initial bauxite reduction (the magnetic fields from the DC current would cause your keys to hang horizontal, aligning themselves with the field) to molten aluminum to big truck-carried crucibles of molten aluminum to ingots to processing to foil and can blanks.

diogeniS8

Too many problems. Hydrogen Fuel reacts with the carbon from the steel at high temperatures. The carbon molecule in the steel (pistons cylinders etc) is the molecule that makes the surface hard enough to withstand the grinding btn the piston and the cylinders. Once that is gone the pistons and the cylinders become very soft. In other words at 30,000 miles you will need a new engine.