4 ms·
The reaction used by is not reversible, so the alumimium in the battery will be consumed, and the battery is not rechargeable. This is only said implicitly in
by alephnil 12y ago
The reaction used by is not reversible, so the alumimium in the battery will be consumed, and the battery is not rechargeable. This is only said implicitly in the article. Thus this is more a fuel cell, using aluminium as fuel.
- giarc 12y agoBut can the spent fuel cell be processed and used for something else? Perhaps not related to a car at all.
- jccooper 12y agoIt's not reversible in the car, but it is reversible in an aluminum smelter. The power cell is turning the metal into aluminum oxide, which is (mostly) how we find Al in its ore form. So once you burn it out, it gets shipped back to Alcoa and they treat it like some nice clean ore and shortly turn it back into metallic Al. Which is not entirely energy-cheap, but at current prices of less than $1/lb isn't too bad. You can see where Alcoa would like such a process. I don't know if the idea of a high-density consumable backup power supply will take off, but it's not a terrible idea until real batteries get much better.
- maxerickson 12y agoIt sounds like a 20 pound module would make a great rescue battery, even if putting them in the cars doesn't take off.
- kashkhan 12y agowith that definition of recycling even gasoline is recyclable in plants :)
- darkmighty 12y agoYou can also synthesize gasoline with water + co2 + energy, not unlike this battery, but the global efficiency is very low (US navy is considering using it in nuclear powered ships for jet fuel iirc). The thermalization of the fuel (i.e. Carnot cycle) is also a significant limiter.
- jessaustin 12y agoSomehow I doubt we'll see any automobile pulling a trailer hooked to the tailpipe to collect all the exhaust! b^)