An experimental aluminum-fueled power plant

[Display omitted] ► An experimental aluminum-fueled power plant was developed and tested. ► Aluminum micron powder as primary fuel and usual water as primary oxidant. ► Plant works in autonomous nonstop regime. An experimental co-generation power plant (CGPP-10) using aluminum micron powder (with average particle size up to 70μm) as primary fuel and water as primary oxidant was developed and tested. Power plant can work in autonomous (unconnected from industrial network) nonstop regime producing hydrogen, electrical energy and heat. One of the key components of experimental plant is aluminum–water high-pressure reactor projected for hydrogen production rate of ∼10nm3h−1. Hydrogen from the reactor goes through condenser and dehumidifier and with −25°C dew-point temperature enters into the air-hydrogen fuel cell 16kW-battery. From 1kg of aluminum the experimental plant produces 1kWh of electrical energy and 5–7kWh of heat. Power consumer gets about 10kW of electrical power. Plant electrical and total efficiencies are 12% and 72%, respectively.