Oct 24 2012: on top of the transmission issues, what would the life cycle be on cells in the sahara? I would think that a sand storm would damage the cells rather quickly along with the extreme temperatures.
Oct 24 2012: How much energy is lost due to heat loss? The melting temperature of antimony is 630 C, magnesium 650C and the boiling point of magnesium is 1107C (the salt could also have a factor here)
So the temperature would need to be maintained between 650 and 1107. Prof Sadoway said that the energy would be enough to keep the reaction self sufficient but I am wondering what % of the energy input would be lost due to heat?
I would see this as a possibility for use at substations which would greatly increase the capacity of the grid. If the heat loss was significant (due to temperatures I would assume there is a fair bit) It would be possible to recapture this energy inside a district system around the substation and distribute to nearby homes and businesses, thus reducing their demand on the grid for heat which makes up half the energy used in a typical home for the northern half of the country and the greatest population. In other locations it make be possible to take this energy and convert to steam and do small on site power generation via steam turbines.
I think there would be limited applications but incredibly interesting possibilities in high population density substations so long as we can find effective means of containing the antimony in the event of a cell failure (toxic to ground water) but that would not be hard, just a sealed concrete tub. I hope to see more of this in the future and perhaps my work will cross when these systems get implemented in the recapture/ design.
Oct 24 2012: That would be an over-unity device, you are getting more out than you put in. It would not even be possible to get perpetual motion due to the internal fiction of the fan shaft and generator friction, along with the back EMF generated.
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A comment on Conversation: Sahara desert as a solar farm.
A comment on Conversation: Sahara desert as a solar farm.
A comment on Talk: Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy
So the temperature would need to be maintained between 650 and 1107. Prof Sadoway said that the energy would be enough to keep the reaction self sufficient but I am wondering what % of the energy input would be lost due to heat?
I would see this as a possibility for use at substations which would greatly increase the capacity of the grid. If the heat loss was significant (due to temperatures I would assume there is a fair bit) It would be possible to recapture this energy inside a district system around the substation and distribute to nearby homes and businesses, thus reducing their demand on the grid for heat which makes up half the energy used in a typical home for the northern half of the country and the greatest population. In other locations it make be possible to take this energy and convert to steam and do small on site power generation via steam turbines.
I think there would be limited applications but incredibly interesting possibilities in high population density substations so long as we can find effective means of containing the antimony in the event of a cell failure (toxic to ground water) but that would not be hard, just a sealed concrete tub. I hope to see more of this in the future and perhaps my work will cross when these systems get implemented in the recapture/ design.
A reply on Talk: Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy