Vindicator
Legacy Member
West Lafayette (IN) - Researchers at Indiana's Purdue University have further developed a recently described technology that can break down water directly into hydrogen and oxygen without input power.
The announced process drives water across a plate which splits the water into its gas components. The collected gases can then be piped off and burned efficiently in a hydrogen powered engine. This process is claimed to produce absolutely no pollution whatsoever and can be used in a wide range of vehicles, even replacing the nuclear power plants in submarines, according to the researchers.
The original process was first announced by Purdue researchers in May of this year. It was based on the idea of taking an aluminum/gallium alloy and flowing water across it. The aluminum splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen without any input power. Basically, the oxygen is drawn to the aluminum and the hydrogen bubbles away to be collected. The gallium is present to prevent normal oxidation on the aluminum's surface, thereby keeping the source free from almost immediate contamination which normally occurs on aluminum during electrolysis. It's an interesting use of the material because gallium is even a waste byproduct of aluminum manufacturing.
Their newest research will be presented in a paper scheduled for release on September 7 at the 2nd Energy Nanotechnology International Conference in Santa Clara, California. It outlines an alloy capable of exposing even more aluminum to the water, thereby making the process more efficient. The original process used a 72% aluminum, 28% gallium (by weight) ratio. The reaction produced hydrogen, alumina (aluminum oxide) and heat. The new process increases the ratio to 80%-20%.
This technology's greatest potential asset is the ability to create hydrogen on demand. If the researchers vision becomes a reality, this means that a vehicle's fuel tanks can be filled with safe water. Only one device near the engine compartment is required to actually produce the explosive hydrogen.
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Ok klinkt héél interessant, maar ik heb toch m'n bedenkingen met deze technologie. Zou wel een grote doorbraak zijn in onze groeiende behoefte naar energie.



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