Originally posted on 1.19.13
Updated 5.2.18:
It so happens that as an intellectual exercise, the following is useful for discussion of the feasibility of an electric car. Since Elon Musk is attempting to make this happen with his battery powered Tesla auto, could there be another, better way of doing it?
Hence the following discussion.
The problem with battery powered cars is with the batteries themselves. They are too heavy. There may not be any way around this problem. However, there are those who think that batteries can be improved so that this problem is overcome.
Let's presume that it cannot, and that another way must be found.
The following post discusses how to produce the hydrogen in a closed loop system. This closed loop system will eliminate the problem of pollution in the production of the hydrogen, for a fuel cell car.
It would make little sense to make a hydrogen car if you make another form of pollution, right?
It might be useful in going backwards in this series, so I include a link here to the previous post, which is part 3, linked below:
The next part is where I will pick up the discussion in the future. See you around!
The original post follows:
A patented process to separate aluminum hydroxide from potassium hydroxide can close the loop in a hydrogen generation system for fuel cells. [ fourth of a series studying the Apollo Electric Car]
The last part closed with the problem of removing the aluminum hydroxide from the potassium hydroxide. The aluminum hydroxide is formed when pure aluminum is dropped into a potassium hydroxide solution in order to generate hydrogen for fuel cells. The goal is to regenerate the aluminum again so that the system can be a closed loop--- no additional inputs needed besides water and energy. Water for the generation of hydrogen, and energy for the regeneration of aluminum.
A google search yielded the pdf of an invention which can do this very thing. Here's what I was looking for:
The present invention is particularly applicable to the
removal of an aluminum hydroxide precipitate from a
potasssium hydroxide electrolyte by agglomerating said
precipitate onto the surface of a cartridge filter, remov-
ing said agglomerated particles from the surface of said
cartridge filter, and allowing said agglomerated parti-
cles to settle in said electrolyte. The average particle
size of the aluminum hydroxide particles which precipi-
tate from a potassium hydroxide electrolyte is in the
range of about 0.5 to about 20 microns. Such particles
settle in the electrolyte too slowly for efficient separa-
tion by settling. By agglomerating the particles
using a cartridge filter, the rate of settling is increased to
the extent that separation by settling can be used.
This invention appears to have been granted in 1991. I presume that it has resulted in products that one can easily obtain and put to use in a closed loop system.
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