[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.”

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Hoodat]

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

Idiots.

[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.

[BuffaloJack]

Stupidest idea yet!
Burn petroleum and you get CO2 and Water vapor.
Burn metals and you get metal oxides that create acids, noxious smoke and other nasty smelly things.
Anyone who’s ever lived by or even driven by a steel mill knows that everything in the area takes on a stench and a hue from the metal oxides.

[Smokin' Joe]

File on that fender faster Martha!!

We're slowing down!

[theBuckwheat]

It won’t be long before the hand-wringers will fret about an “iron shortage”.

[Mastador1]

Okay, so it is a plus if instead of drilling wells and pumping out oil, we instead dig huge holes to remove metal bearing ores and then process them for the refined metal...........No, not seeing how this is better for gaia.