If I were a betting man, I'd wager this engine will generate more useful energy...
Posted on 11/04/2020 11:00:36 AM PST by DUMBGRUNT
Many industries use heat-intensive processes that generally require the burning of fossil fuels, but a surprising green fuel alternative is emerging in the form of metal powders. Ground very fine, cheap iron powder burns readily at high temperatures, releasing energy as it oxidises in a process that emits no carbon and produces easily collectable rust, or iron oxide, as its only emission.
If burning metal powder as fuel sounds strange, the next part of the process will be even more surprising. That rust can be regenerated straight back into iron powder with the application of electricity, and if you do this using solar, wind or other zero-carbon power generation systems, you end up with a totally carbon-free cycle. The iron acts as a kind of clean battery for combustion processes, charging up via one of a number of means including electrolysis, and discharging in flames and heat.
(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...
[[Sure seems a lot easier than cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking and burning wood.]]
Huh? Have you tried cutting hauling and splitting iron=-? lol
i know ya said poweder- but i just thought it funny- got a visual of splitting iron lol
Most iron and steel contains carbon.
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. The carbon content can vary from 0.002% to 2.14% depending upon the desired properties.
Therefore, burning iron is not a zero carbon process.
That’s just stupid
I haven’t tried splitting it, but I have tried scrapping it. What a PITA.
Had a 4x8 trailer full of it - something like 600#. I had to haul it 45 minutes away to get a whopping $35 or some small pittance. It wasn’t worth my time to put it into the trailer and make a 90 minute round trip (not to mention the gas) if I hadn’t needed it out of my way. Iron/steel scrap has become something of a nuisance in rural areas if you have an amount you can’t sneak into the trash. You have to pay to have it hauled away - it’s so valueless right now.
My comment was for those who don’t know the difference.
Not many on here......................
If I were a betting man, I'd wager this engine will generate more useful energy...
It’s called entropy.
No cyclical process is 100% efficient, there is always some loss of energy.
So, ya see, the notion is to use “clean” sources for the electricity the recovery process requires.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...the iron, the solar panels and the windmills are all made using carbon-fired energy, so the CO2 production is merely removed a level. The vision would be smelting the iron, making the solar panels and the windmills using solar or wind-produced energy, so the entire cycle would be “green” at that point.
I am skeptical of the feasibility both environmentally, and economically. It takes an immense amount of energy to reform rust into iron, and then it has to be powdered for use in the combustion process... I’m just seeing $$$$ everywhere.
And THEN there’s the massive need for LAND for wind, solar (or both). THAT’S not gonna be cheap...
I’m not seeing a route to joy, here.
Rust is the combustion product. They will reduce the rust back to iron by using an extremely energy intensive process driven by electricity!
This free lunch idea really appeals to marxists and greens.
i did junking for awhile- would go around and offer to clean up folks accumulated scrap heaps- Yep- quite a pain- and yep- not much money for the effort- but work was hard to get at the time, so we were thankful for the work- used to cut down huge barrels, a few railroad ties- cars, etc- lots of torchwork which my friend did thankfully- I’da burned everything down if u had tried lol
Except the cars are all made from aluminum these days. But aluminum burns nicely, too.
And even fewer in the general population.
Guessing the process need not be at an elevated temperature, with high and difficult to use delta T?
Perhaps a slower controlled burn over a large area?
A Trombe wall on one side of your house and a sealed iron combustion wall on the other?
or fiberglass- fiberglass burns too, but wow- the smoke lol-
Entropy ate your free lunch. LOL
Yep. They should have stopped at the First Law. Who needed a Second Law, anyway?
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