New Aluminum-rich Alloy Splits Water Into Hydrogen & Oxygen

[Iggy Dalrymple]

New Aluminum-rich Alloy Produces Hydrogen On-demand For Large-scale Uses

ScienceDaily (Feb. 20, 2008) — Purdue University engineers have developed a new aluminum-rich alloy that produces hydrogen by splitting water and is economically competitive with conventional fuels for transportation and power generation.

For the technology to be used in major applications such as cars and trucks or for power plants, however, a large-scale recycling program would be required to turn the alumina back into aluminum and to recover the gallium-indium-tin alloy. Other infrastructure components, such as those related to manufacturing and the supply chain, also would have to be developed, he said.

The Purdue researchers are developing a method to create briquettes of the alloy that could be placed in a tank to react with water and produce hydrogen on-demand. Such a technology would eliminate the need to store and transport hydrogen, two potential stumbling blocks in developing a hydrogen economy, Woodall said.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0219133226.htm

[Mad Scientest]

For me the real question is not does it work or not. But how much energy is needed to make this new “alloy” as compared to how much energy can it release?