Water added to aluminum mixed with Gallium can produce hydrogen on demand. As a catalyst, the Gallium is not consumed. The oxidized aluminum can be recycled. The process is close to being cost competitive with gasoline.
A Purdue University engineer has developed a method that uses an aluminum alloy to extract hydrogen from water for running fuel cells or internal combustion engines. The technique could be used to replace gasoline, though it is not quite cost-competitive yet.
The method makes it unnecessary to store or transport hydrogen – two major challenges in creating a hydrogen economy, said Jerry Woodall, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue who invented the process.
“The hydrogen is generated on demand, so you only produce as much as you need when you need it,” said Woodall, who presented research findings detailing how the system works during a recent energy symposium at Purdue.
The Purdue Research Foundation holds title to the primary patent, which has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is pending. An Indiana startup company, AlGalCo LLC., has received a license for the exclusive right to commercialize the process.
As with many breakthrough discoveries throughout history, this one came as an accident…
“I was cleaning a crucible containing liquid alloys of gallium and aluminum,” Woodall said. “When I added water to this alloy – talk about a discovery – there was a violent poof. I went to my office and worked out the reaction in a couple of hours to figure out what had happened.
This could be big, big, big.
Nuke
Update 1: Others have taken notice:
Read more at CNet, Reuters, (I love scooping the big boys) and PhysOrg
PLUS, here is Jerry Woodall’s Powerpoint Presentation
Update 2: More links…
NewMax, SciIT News, and
Mobile Magazine does the math:
“A pound of aluminum gives forth about two kilowatts of power, meaning
that a 350-mile trip in a standard vehicle would require 350 pounds of
aluminum and cost about $60. That dollar figure is fairly
representative of current gasoline costs for the same distance.”
Update 3: (5/31/07) Jerry Woodall was just interviewed on CNN Headline with Glenn Beck.
He (Woodall, not Beck) doesn’t seem to be a fruitcake. That’s the good news. the not-so-good news is that Woodall claims that the Dept of Energy has twice refused to provide any help at all to Woodall.
By the way, Woodall estimates that it will be at least 15-20 years before this new fuel source can be successfully brought to market.
Tags: works | research | Professor | internal | ELECTRICAL | distinguished | demand | Computer | COMBUSTION | added | woodall | Technology | purdue | JERRY | HYDROGEN | GENERATES | Gallium | ALUMINUM | Alloy
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Purdue Process Generates Hydrogen from Aluminum Alloy
big big big..sounds very big!..lol..thanks so much for the visit to my site..so wonderful to see u there!
I would prefer this than ethanol, actually, until cellulose can be converted.
me too. over biodiesel too
Sounds good to me, except for one thing. How does it smell?
I mean, if you’ve never been to a big-time NHRA event, and been there when the Funny Cars or Top Fuelers run, and the glorious smell of nitromethane, you ain’t lived.
/just sayin’
Ooo, a gearhead
Durn tootin’!
They put gasoline in my sippy cup, and bearing grease on my toast.
the stat counter gave this thread 26 hits from search engines looking for information on the AlGalCo startup venture. Looks like the investment reseachers are busy. I don’t think it will pay to be long on gas futures.
I’m going to shut the office down and relocate myself to the ez chair and laptop. BBL
I noticed all the search engine hits on AlGalCo. The word is on the street.
Wholesale gas prices were up $.01 today.
From what I can tell, this process isn’t near ready for public consumption.
[…] Breakthrough Process Generates Hydrogen […]
The amount of gallium required is a BIG BIG BIG problem for there to be off–board regeneration. Anyone ask the cost of that and the energy cost for regeneration of the fuel.
Sorry to rain on the parade.
DD
purdue researchers say the cost is comparable to
$3 gas.