Journal of Power Sources, Vol.196, No.20, 8828-8835, 2011
An experimental aluminum-fueled power plant
An experimental co-generation power plant (CGPP-10) using aluminum micron powder (with average particle size up to 70 mu m) as primary fuel and water as primary oxidant was developed and tested. Power plant can work in autonomous (unconnected from industrial network) nonstop regime producing hydrogen, electrical energy and heat. One of the key components of experimental plant is aluminum-water high-pressure reactor projected for hydrogen production rate of similar to 10 nm(3) h(-1). Hydrogen from the reactor goes through condenser and dehumidifier and with -25 degrees C dew-point temperature enters into the air-hydrogen fuel cell 16 kW-battery. From 1 kg of aluminum the experimental plant produces 1 kWh of electrical energy and 5-7 kWh of heat. Power consumer gets about 10 kW of electrical power. Plant electrical and total efficiencies are 12% and 72%, respectively. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.