◄ UD0
HEUREMA · εὕρημα · an invention

AL‑H2O Reactor / on‑board hydrogen from aluminum + water

Activated aluminum pellets meet water; the passivating oxide is stripped by a liquid‑metal alloy and the bare metal splits water into hydrogen. Fuel that is a solid you can hold, water you can find, and an exhaust that is water again.

Reaction chamber · live cross‑section

Aluminum pellets (GaIn‑coated) settle in the water bath; H2 bubbles nucleate and rise; the copper glow tracks reaction heat (ΔH = −418 kJ/mol Al); pale boehmite/hydroxide silt accumulates on the floor. A static correct frame draws on load — motion is optional gloss.
H₂ production
0 g/s
0 L/min @ NTP
Reaction heat
0 kW thermal
Fuel-cell electrical out
0 kW · PEM 62%
Water consumed
0 g/s
36 kg cartridge · range est.
0 km
0 min to consume feed

The chemistry · genuine and computed

2 Al + 6 H2O ──▶ 2 Al(OH)3 + 3 H2↑ + ΔH

Exothermic hydrolysis, aqueous, near‑ambient pressure, optimal ~50 °C. Bare aluminum reduces water; the metal is oxidized to hydroxide and hydrogen is liberated. Under reactor heat some Al(OH)3 dehydrates to boehmite: Al(OH)₃ → AlOOH + H₂O.

The oxide skin (Al2O3) that normally passivates aluminum in air is disrupted by a gallium‑indium liquid‑metal alloy penetrating the grain boundaries, keeping fresh metal exposed. Imidazole acts as a bifunctional proton‑transfer catalyst, accelerating hydrolysis roughly 24× versus plain water.

Quantity (per kg Al)Value
moles Al37.06 mol
H₂ yield (stoich.)0.1121 kg
H₂O consumed~2.00 kg
Boehmite (AlOOH)2.224 kg
Reaction heat ΔH15.49 MJ
H₂ energy (LHV)12.92 MJ
Constants: MAl=26.982, MH₂=2.016, MH₂O=18.015 g/mol · ΔH=418 kJ/mol Al · H₂ LHV=120 MJ/kg · yield 0.96 · PEM 62%. Sources: MIT DMSE water‑splitting work; Uddin et al. 2023; GaIn Al‑activation prior art. See CHEMISTRY.md / SPECS.md in this repo.

How the readout is computed

ṁH₂ = (feed[kg/hr] · 1000 / 26.982) · 1.5 · 2.016/1000 · 0.96 · catalyst(T) [kg/hr → g/s]
catalyst(T) = min(1.2, 0.4 + 0.6·exp(−(T−50)²/800)) (Arrhenius‑style peak at 50 °C)
Qheat = (feed·1000/26.982)/3600 · 418 kJ/mol · catalyst(T) → kW
Pelec = ṁH₂ · 120 MJ/kg · 0.62 → kW · ṁH₂O = ṁH₂ · (6·18.015)/(3·2.016)

With activation OFF the catalyst multiplier collapses toward ~1/24 of nominal (the uncatalysed plain‑water rate) and the oxide is only slowly breached — the numbers fall accordingly. Range uses the SPECS reference chain: 3.876 kg H₂ per 36 kg cartridge → 80.1 kWh → ≈400 km at a 15 kW / 80 km·h⁻¹ average draw.

Honest two‑layer disclosure

  • REAL PHYSICS  The reaction 2Al + 6H₂O → 2Al(OH)₃ + 3H₂, its ~0.112 kg H₂/kg Al stoichiometry, the ΔH ≈ −418 kJ/mol exothermicity, and the H₂ energy content (LHV 120 MJ/kg) are established chemistry, correctly implemented here from first principles.
  • REAL PHYSICS  GaIn liquid‑metal de‑passivation of aluminum and activated‑Al water splitting are real, published effects (MIT DMSE; long‑standing GaIn Al‑activation literature). Boehmite (AlOOH) as a product and saleable material is genuine.
  • DESIGN / DISCLOSURE  The packaged reactor system — cartridge, auger, membrane separator, PEM stack sizing, ~110 kg wet mass, ≈400 km vehicle range — is an engineering design and public disclosure. It is not a built, tested device and not a granted patent. Values are estimates from the cited chemistry; prototype validation is pending.
  • SYMBOLIC TOY  The canvas is an illustrative cross‑section, not a CFD / multiphase simulation: bubble counts, pellet motion, glow intensity, and silt buildup are scaled to the real computed rate for intuition, but the fluid dynamics themselves are decorative, not solved.
  • SYMBOLIC TOY  The catalyst(T) curve is a smooth Arrhenius‑style approximation of the documented 10–70 °C behaviour, not a fitted kinetic model of any specific pellet chemistry.
To disclose a design is real work; it is not a granted patent or a fabricated device.