REGENERATION OF METAL POWDER: closing the metal fuel cycle

Metal fuels can be combusted with air or reacted with water to release its energy. The combusted fuels can be reduced again towards metal with electrolyse or reduction with hydrogen. By using clean energy within this process we can speak of a zero-carbon cycle.

In this project the focus lays on the reduction part with hydrogen of the metal fuel cycle, with iron as metal fuel. A laboratory scale iron oxide reduction reactor will be designed and build. The performance of this reactor will be investigated as well as the physical, chemical and technical properties of the iron oxide powders before and after reduction. These results will be compared with the results of the reduction process within a fluidized bed reactor. At last the cyclability potential of the whole metal fuel cycle as an energy carrier will be investigated.

People involved in this project: Niels Deen, Giulia Finotello & Nicole Stevens