An Analysis of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions in the E-Cat Device. Douglas W. Lindstrom

Transcription

1 Introduction An Analysis of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions in the E-Cat Device Douglas W. Lindstrom Four documents entitled the Swedish Papers [1-4] herein, addressed the energy production capabilities of technology developed by Rossi coined the E-Cat device. Several potential nuclear reactions were proposed to explain the phenomenon but it was inconclusive which explanation was the most suitable. Duplication of the E-Cat device has reduced the number of potential reaction schemes considerably [5]. The use of Occam s razor permeates the ECE theory. Using this requisite, the reactions proposed are the simplest possible that fit the observed fuel and ash analyses. It will be seen that these simple reactions though not being feasible in the standard model can be explained using the ECE model for low energy nuclear reactions proposed earlier [6]. Chemistry of the Fuel and Ash: The Swedish Tests: The following were posted [1] as being representative material From Electron microscopy techniques (SEM-EDS) and mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) Ion Fuel (SEM/EDS) Fuel(ICP-MS) % Ash Ash(ICP-MS) 6 Li Li Ni Ni Ni Ni Ni From plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) the following were obtained Element Abundance in Fuel(ICP-AES) Abundance in Ash(ICP-AES) Li Ni Al C,Ca,Cl,Fe,Mg,Mn

2 In addition, time of flight mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS) gave the following strong signals and corresponding elements from [ physics.nist.gov Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions of All Elements]. Significant levels of material are indicated by shading. Atomic Mass Fuel Type 1 Fuel-Type 2 Ash Type-1 Ash-Type 2 Element H 6. 2 Li Li Mg Al 2.1 Si Si K K Ca Cr 54.1 Cr,Fe Mn 56 2 Fe Ni Cu/Ni(?) Ga/(Zn?) Se Zr From these various materials analyses, it had been concluded [1-4] that the fuel is a mixture of Li Al H ', nickel, and iron, magnesium, manganese, calcium, carbon, and chlorine. Trace amounts of copper may be indicated. It is suggested here, consistent with the data presented (Figure 3, [1]) that the iron is quite probably in an oxide form. The nickel particles consist of an amorphous structure with a crystalline microstructure that provides a very large surface area for a given mass of material. The ash or residue from the reaction consists largely of nickel and lithium, with virtually no traces of aluminum or iron observed. The Russian [Parkhomov] duplication of this test [5] reportedly does not contain the elements iron, magnesium, manganese, calcium, carbon, and chlorine, the fuel being a mixture of nickel and lithium aluminum hydride only. The fuel in the reactor is a dry powder, and is slowly heated up to its operating temperature of 1400 C, in the case of the Swedish experiment, and 1290 C for the Russian test. Now Li Al H ' begins to melt at 150 C [7]. Above 400 C the material becomes a lithium aluminium alloy plus gaseous hydrogen. At 1347 C the lithium boils out of the alloy. Hydrogen molecules become available with initial melting as is shown in the following decomposition reaction sequence [7].

3 3 LiAlH 4 Li 3AlH Al + 3 H 2 (150 C) 2 Li 3AlH 6 6 LiH + 2 Al + 3 H 2 (200 C) 2 LiH + 2 Al 2 LiAl (alloy)+ H 2 (400 C) At the operating temperature of the reactor, if above 1347 C, the following overall reaction may have occurred Li Al H ' + energy Li(g) + Li(l)Al(l) + H 1 (g) + 2H(g) Melting and Boiling Temperature for Some of the Materials in the Fuel Material Melt Temperature ( C) Boiling Temperature ( C) Li Al H ' na Lithium Aluminum Al 2O Ni Iron Fe 2O The melting temperature of aluminum is 660 C and its boiling point is 2519 C so that at the operating temperature of the reactor, the aluminum is in a liquid state. The lithium will be distributed throughout the chamber in gaseous form and in the liquid state alloyed with aluminum. In the Russian test, the liquid state dominates. With the Russian demonstration [5], atomic weights 34 ( 27 Al+ 7 Li), 63 ( 56 Ni + 7 Li), and 93 ( 27 Al+ 56 Ni) etc, become worth considering. With the exception of extremely small amounts of 63 Cu (below the recognition level of the instrument), these atomic masses do not appear in the ash of the Swedish tests. There are no traces of atomic mass, either which would be needed to indicate a Beryllium reaction. The conversion of 7 Li to 7 Be is a well understood nuclear reaction [10] for producing a neutron flux; Li + p MeV Be + n A Be + e Li + p +.6MeV

4 7 Be decays to 6 Li with a half life of 53.7 days and the release of energy of kev. A low energy electron is required to stimulate the decay [11] of the Beryllium. However, 7 Be residue was not found in the ash ruling out the above reaction. A reaction such as Li A + p? MeV Li + n + p? where a stable Be nucleus never formed may be worth considering. This would essentially be a severing of a neutron from the 7 Li nucleus because of a proton projectile impact. The reactions for nickel could proceed as EF Ni EH + n Ni+?? MeV etc. all the way to AI Ni This reaction is somewhat understood [12-14]. Source of Protons and Neutrons A1 + n Ni+?? MeV When LiAlH4 decomposes with heat, four hydrogen atoms are provided for every lithium atom. The hydrogen is largely in molecular form at the operating temperature of the reactor and dissociates to only a minor extent. The degree of dissociation of H2 into atomic hydrogen [9] and hydrogen nuclei can be calculated using the Saha equation (see Appendix II). As shown in the table below, the concentration of hydrogen molecules, atoms, and bare hydrogen nuclei, is temperature dependent and could provide a possible control mechanism for an LENR reaction involving a free proton. The thermal energy of the hydrogen nuclei is about 43 ev at the reactor temperature. Temperature Dependence of Concentration of Hydrogen Species in Swedish Test Apparatus Concentration (%) 1400 C 3000 C 4500 C 6000 C H H H

5 Thermite Reactions It is well known [] that aluminum and iron oxide form an explosive exothermic thermite reaction; 2Al+ Fe2O3 Al2O3+ 2Fe+(50000 J/mole) This reaction occurs spontaneously at temperatures greater than 600 C []. There are several thermite reactions with aluminum []. The metals present in the E-Cat fuel for the Swedish tests are given in the following table. Thermite Reactions for Metals in Swedish Experiments Thermite Reaction Energy to start reaction Energy Released 2Al+ Fe2O3 Al2O3+ 2Fe 3.95 kj/g 3Fe3O4+ Al 4Al2O3+ 9Fe kj/g 3MnO2+4Al 3Mn+2 Al2O kj/g Mn2O3+2Al 2Mn+Al2O3 3.3 kj/g Cr2O3+2Al 2Cr+Al2O kj/g The final temperature for some of these reactions is reported to be about 3000 C [a] under stoichiometric conditions. This is near the melt point of aluminum oxide. This reaction includes the energy necessary to liquefy the aluminum. This energy has been provided in this reaction by the reactor, so we could expect hot spots with a temperature of about 4500 C to develop. It has also been suggested that localized hot spots occur in the reactor [1-4]. The thermite reaction may be an explanation for this. We speculate that the aluminum and non-nickel or lithium elements do not participate directly in the low energy nuclear events and note in passing that the small amount of total fuel (one gram) in the reactor is not nearly enough to provide the heat gain observed. The total energy released from one gram of the fuel is reported to be [1] 5. x 10 9 J; the energy available from the thermite reaction is lower by about a factor of The Russian experiments supports this conclusion for the non-aluminum metals. For the Swedish experiments, it is reported [1] that the ratio of lithium to nickel should be 2.57 for complete burning of the fuel. Incorporating this and the thermite reaction under stoichiometric conditions, the following material mixture is required.

6 Table 2 Stoichiometry for Thermite Reaction Given Nickel/Lithium Requirements for LENR Material Weight Fractions of Components Swedish Results Li Al H ' Iron Oxide Nickel There is excess aluminum in the mixture for the stoichiometric thermite reaction for the amount of iron present. Since iron is known to be soluble in aluminum, the result of this reaction in the presence of excess aluminum would be a mixture of aluminum oxide, aluminum, and iron, which would be energetically hurled towards the containment vessel wall. This perhaps is the reason why no aluminum or iron appears in the ash from the reaction. The melting of aluminum in an aluminum oxide crucible leaves a thick residue of aluminum on the crucible that is difficult to remove. It is unknown whether this was present on the cavity wall of the reaction vessel or not. References [1] Giuseppe Levi et. al., Observation of abundant heat production from a reactor device and of isotopic changes in the fuel, October 6, 2014 [2] Giuseppe Levi, et. al. Inidication of Anomalous Heat Energy Production in a reactor device containing hydrogen loaded nickel powder, [3] Carl-Oscar Gullström, Low radiation fusion through bound neutron tunneling 2014 [4] Goldberg 2 [5] Alexander Georgevici Parkhomov, Study of the Replica of Rossi s High Temperature Generator. New results [6] uft paper on lenr 231? [7] Wikipedia on Li Al H4 [] Thermite, [9] Julius T. Su, An electron force field for simulating large scale excited electron dynamics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 2007,

7 See also D. Meral, Saha s Equation: Dissociation and Ionization of Hydrogen, [10] HW Lefevre, G.U. Din; Zero degree neutron yield from the 7Li(p, n)7be reaction, J. Phys., 1969, 22, [11] [12] O. A. Wasson and J. E. Draper Thermal and Resonance Neutron Capture in Copper, Nickel, and Manganese Phys. Rev. 137, B1175 Published March 1965 [13] A. F. M. Ishaq, A. Robertson, W. V. Prestwich, T. J. Kennett, Thermal neutron capture in isotopes of nickel, Nuclear Physics Division Pinstech P.O. Nilore Rawalpindi Pakistan Zeitschrift für Physik A Hadrons and Nuclei 11/1977; 21(4): [14] S. Raman, X. Ouyang, M.A. Islam, J.W. Starner, E.T. Jurney, Thermal-neutron capture by Ni 5, Ni 59, and Ni 60, Phys. Rev. C 70, Published 29 October 2004