Column: China’s export tax bombshell rocks aluminum market
China's announcement on Friday may have major long-term ramifications for the global aluminum supply chain, writes Andy Home.
Aluminum is one of the most ubiquitous manufacturing materials of the industrialized era, but few would suspect that this commonplace metal harbors tremendous potential as an ecological fuel source.
Scientists at Alchemy Research are currently working on the development of aluminum as an automobile fuel, via a process which uses the aluminum-water reaction as a source of cheap yet clean renewable energy.
The process involves heating water into 900-degree steam, engendering a reaction which releases 50% of its energy as heat and the remainder as hydrogen which can power automobile fuel cells.
The waste product for the process is aluminum oxide from which aluminum can be extracted using electricity, meaning that the fuel is essentially rechargeable.
According to the Dvice website, aluminum has twice the energy density of gasoline and the process under development could enable vehicles to cover 1,500 miles of road per tank.
7 Comments
We buy cars
In petrol (gasoline) engines, the top piston ring can expose the motor oil to temperatures of 160 °C (320 °F). In diesel engines the top ring can expose the oil to temperatures over 315 °C (600 °F). Motor oils with higher viscosity indices thin less at these higher temperatures.
dodge ram parts
Well I am very suprised by this.
hardrockminer62
guess it comes down to the efficiency of turning the oxide back to metal. If they have not considered this they will probably never go anywhere
Kortney Dunkle
Not going anywhere in our life times. There are too many lower cost and immediate
alternatives, natural gas being foremost.
Platinumcapitalusa
In new Zealand and Austrakia we have been using LPG and natural gas in cars since 1980. At 1/4 the price if gas can’t understand why the USA does not use it???? You will find more cars busses trucks in LOG and natural gas rather than gas and disel in both counties!
Hardrockminer61
Aluminum is one of the most energy intensive metals to produce.
dodge ram side mirror
I never thought that you can do this with aluminum.