Could metal particles be the clean fuel of the future?

ScienceDaily ^ | December 9, 2015 | McGill University

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

“Novel concept

The Applied Energy paper, co-authored by Bergthorson with five other McGill researchers and a European Space Agency scientist in the Netherlands, lays out a novel concept for using tiny metal particles — similar in size to fine flour or icing sugar — to power external-combustion engines.

Unlike the internal-combustion engines used in gasoline-powered cars, external-combustion engines use heat from an outside source to drive an engine. External-combustion engines, modern versions of the coal-fired steam locomotives that drove the industrial era, are widely used to generate power from nuclear, coal or biomass fuels in power stations.

The idea of burning metal powders is nothing new — they’ve been used for centuries in fireworks, for instance. Since the mid-20th century, they’ve also been used in rocket propellants, such as the space shuttle’s solid-fuel booster rockets. But relatively little research has been done in recent decades on the properties of metal flames, and the potential for metal powders to be used as a recyclable fuel in a wide range of applications has been largely overlooked by scientists.”

[Bob434]

steel wool burns if you light it on fire-

I like turtles

[Lockbox]

How long before we reach Peak Iron?

[Telepathic Intruder]

Aluminum is used in solid rocket fuels, and it will never run out since you can extract it from common rock. But it takes energy to extract it.

[Tenacious 1]

Metal burns hot.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Aluminium is the third most abundant element (after oxygen and silicon).

[Manly Warrior]

Once again, the bottom line is omitted. Refining these wonder fuels requires, well, energy- usually more energy inputs than resultant outputs (excluding fusion reactions, but that is another story- and a relatively uncontrollable power source unless aboard a ship or at a nuke generating plant).

“Using primary energy sources” is the key to the whole illusion. Just as ethanol, wind, solar etc- all require copious amounts of “primary energy” ( read petroleum) to get an out put- always less than the inputs.

Perhaps useful for space travel, missile engines etc but not for common personal use.

[Telepathic Intruder]

It’s everywhere in earth’s crust. But to separate it from oxygen requires as much energy as it produces when burned. And there’s always additional overhead. It would be a clean fuel if that’s what this article is driving at, but how clean is the energy source used to extract it? The pollution just gets bumped up to another level.

[o_1_2_3__]

"Technologies to generate clean electricity -- primarily solar and wind power -- are being developed rapidly; but we can't use that electricity for many of the things that oil and gas are used for today, such as transportation and global energy trade," notes McGill University professor Jeffrey Bergthorson, lead author of the new study.

No, but oil fits the need perfectly, doesn't it? And it seems to be getting cheaper by the day. And oh, lookee -- there's an entire global infrastructure in place for it! And a global pricing mechanism.

Too bad...

[Toddsterpatriot]

Metal powders, produced using clean primary energy sources

Love to hear what they mean here, before I mock it.

[Blood of Tyrants]

It takes a LOT of energy to extract it.

[roadcat]

steel wool burns if you light it on fire-

I like turtles

Add some aluminum powder and make a really nice fire. What's the turtle reference?

[familyop]

"Technologies to generate clean electricity -- primarily solar and wind power -- are being developed rapidly; but we can't use that electricity for...transportation and global energy trade" mining and manufacturing metal powders.

[CurlyDave]

It’s everywhere in earth’s crust. But to separate it from oxygen requires as much energy as it produces when burned. And there’s always additional overhead. It would be a clean fuel if that’s what this article is driving at, but how clean is the energy source used to extract it? The pollution just gets bumped up to another level.

I am not so certain it would be a clean fuel. The end product of combustion of Aluminum is Al2O3, aluminum oxide. If the Aluminum is finely divided to start out the Aluminum Oxide would also be finely divided, essentially dust. And, very hard, abrasive dust at that. Not the kind of thing you want speed over every highway.

[Hoodat]

So how much energy does it take to refine iron powder?

Idiots.

[Zeneta]

Nevermind that massive strip mining required to provide these “snowflakes” with all the little “tools” they need to tell US that “we” are killing the environment.

[amorphous]

Aluminium-air batteries or Al-air batteries produce electricity from the reaction of oxygen in the air with aluminium. They have one of the highest energy densities of all batteries, but they are not widely used because of problems with high anode cost and byproduct removal when using traditional electrolytes and this has restricted their use to mainly military applications. However, an electric vehicle with aluminium batteries has the potential for up to eight times the range of a lithium-ion battery with a significantly lower total weight.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium%E2%80%93air_battery

[blackdog]

I guess when we tire of burning our food we can get busy burning our high rises.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Would seem to have more potential than a lithium-ion battery in shipping a truckload of freight across the country.