Cornish Hydrogen
Generator
There are just
three components to the basic
cornish hydrogen generator. Obviously the system
can be enhanced, but we are only
going to cover the reaction that occurs when
you mix aluminum, water and sodium hydroxide (Red Devil
Lye).
Note: This
is a dangerous reaction. This is not
a feasible generator for a home generator or
for transportation as the reaction is nearly impossible to
control.
Do not build the cornish hydrogen generator
unless you are a quaified professional with appropriate safety
gear.
To build a cornish
hydrogen generator, start with a plastic bucket
(called a reactor)approx. one gallon in
size. Loosely seal the top with a hose that
comes out (to capture the gas) and feed the tube
into a bubbler. A bubbler is a quart sized
container filled 3/4 with water. The tube
from the reactor should go to the bottom of the
bubbler so that the gas bubbles from
the base of the bubbler
all the way to the top.
Fix another tube on the bubbler and
connect a fuel hose to it. The tip
of the fuel hose should be metal (copper flexible
tubing).
Note: The bubbler is a stop
gap between the source of fuel (reactor) and the flame.
The last thing you want is
to have a flame reach
your reactor. You will meltdown your
reactor which is not a good thing
as your mixture will flow and burn and
water will not put it out, only feed the
fire more.
Once you have your reactor, bubbler and fuel
line constructed, it is now time to start a
reaction.
Put a
quart of water, aluminum and red
devil lye into the reactor. Seal the lid of
the reactor. Pick up the reactor and stir around the
red devil lye so that it desolves into the
water. Set down the reactor and watch bubbles
start to form on the aluminum. The rate should increase
within 2-3 minutes. If not, add
more lye. We are not going
to give you the amount to put
in, this is your experiment and if
your experiment goes horribly wrong we don't want a
lawsuit saying "But the website said to put X amount
in".
You now have a cornish
hydrogen generator. The reactor should
produce enough pressure to
push gas through the bubbler. We found
that we had to elevate the
bubbler so that less pressure is needed. The bubbler
will eventually be filled with gas and push all of
the air out of the system and at some
point you will have pure Brown's Gas.
Once that happens, you should be able to crimp your
copper tubing so that instead of
being round it is flat
(not closed off). This will allow
you to ignite the gas coming out
of the tube and it should carry a
flame so long as the reaction continue in the
reactor.
Will It
Scale?
If an
engineering firm can figure out how to control the
reaction on a larger scale, then you may
have a feasible reactor. The aluminium
feedstock would need to be from reclamation
of waste aluminum from sources that normally
would be wasted by sitting
in the
landfill.
Sea, waste or
tap water is combined with aluminum and a chemical
matrix that initiates an exothermic
reaction within
proprietary machinery that is computer controlled
to manage the reaction within ASME pressure vessels. The
process separates pure hydrogen from the water,
creates steam and changes the scrap aluminum into
valuable and pure alumina. The steam drives turbines,
which creates electricity. The hydrogen fuels internal combustion
engines attached to a power generator,
which also creates electricity. The process emits
no harmful emissions into the atmosphere as
only potable water and pure
oxygen is
released.
Below is
a breakdown comparing the current recycling
process compared to how the Cornish Hydrogen
Generator could split out materials into base
components that could be sold
to individual
markets.
MARKET
SUMMARY
The following market summary is based
on Umpqua Energy's cursory research,
potential revenue from electricity, alumina,
oxygen and water will fluctuate.
Scrap Aluminum
Scrap aluminum has a commodity market, as
there is a ready supply of purchasers willing to
buy limitless quantities. There is not much
use for scrap aluminum besides smelting into new
aluminum, which is cheaper than mining bauxite,
processing to alumina then smelting alumina into
new aluminum. Preparations for scrap
aluminum to enter the marketplace include an
energy consuming process of baling, shredding,
crushing, compacting and cleaning.
Recycler’s processing facilities operate on a 2-4%
margin and sell to customers who a) pay their
bills and b) have the highest bid price and has a
market value of $.60/lb.
Alumina
Alumina is not part of a commodity market as
there is not a ready supply of purchasers who will
buy limitless quantities. Most importantly,
alumina can be smelted back into aluminum.
Alumina can be sold domestically or
internationally for between $.72/lb at smelter
grade and $2,000/lb at chemical grade.
Chemical grade revenue can be garnered only if
performed in a certified lab environment.
There are many uses for alumina as a raw material
to be used in the creation of cement, ceramics,
toothpaste, deodorants, inks and abrasive
slurries.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is not part of a commodity market as
there is not a ready supply of purchasers who will
buy limitless quantities. Transport and
storage issues must be resolved prior to having
the ability to sell into a marketplace. When
the market is established, the prices will be
reliant on oil and natural gas pricing as the
majority of research development grants have gone
to reformation projects. Hydrogen can be
used as a fuel to power gensets which can produce
electricity to supply to customers.
Oxygen
Oxygen is not part of a commodity market as
there is not a ready supply of purchasers who will
buy limitless quantities. Accessing the
market would require compressing, liquefying,
bottling and transporting the product to
market. Current plans for the excess oxygen
would be to feed it into the induction systems of
the internal combustion engine or vent it into
atmosphere.
Water
A
thorough market study is recommended to compare
the costs and revenues associated with
desalinization plants being constructed along our
coastlines. Converting industrial wastewater
to potable water has intrinsic value and with
appropriate proximity to a client revenue could be
garnered as a service to the neighboring
facility. The water could be bottled and
sold or recycled back into the process to reduce
consumption.
Electricity
Electricity has a commodity
market, as there is a ready supply of purchasers
willing to buy limitless quantities.
Renewable, green and emission free energy is in
high demand. Federal, State and Local
Governments have initiated policy change to
purchase 100% green energy over the next 20
years. To encourage the market to meet that
challenge, tax incentives and accelerated
depreciation schedules have been put into
place. In addition, various States fund
self-generation initiatives. California has
taken the lead in being the most green energy and
self-generation friendly State in our union.
In 2004 they have funded a rebate program worth
$175mm to those who self generate power.
Rebates can be applied for through the utility
companies who also certify the workmanship of the
machinery.
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