Design of an aluminum-powered reverse osmosis desalination system for disaster relief

Fuel generated from highly energy-dense aluminum debris (23.3 kWh/L) is explored here as a means for producing electricity and clean water for disaster relief and preparedness. Energy is extracted from aluminum by first treating it with a minimal surface coating of gallium and indium (<3% by mass) and then reacting it with water to produce hydrogen, which can supply a fuel cell or internal combustion engine to generate electricity, and heat, which can be used to desalinate and purify seawater or contaminated fresh water. To use aluminum debris as fuel, it is necessary to first understand which of the many possible aluminum-water reactions occurs at given a temperature and pressure in order to accurately model such quantities as the heat released and the amount of water required stoichiometrically for the reaction to proceed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Godart, Peter T.(Peter Tully)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Douglas P. Hart.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123180

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/123180