Eksjö stadsbibliotek e-böcker

Abstract

We live on a thin skin of rock, just 30 km thick, which surrounds a 12,700 km diameter ball of magma. There are many cracks in the skin, where volcanoes and other vents bring hot lava to the surface. If the geothermal energy readily available in countries like Iceland was transformed into electricity, it would be enough to replace all the fossil fuel we currently use. Moreover, Danish chemists have shown that energy can be conveniently stored in ‘handheld hydrogen’ tablets, consisting of Mg(NH3)6Cl2complexes of ammonia and the cheap salt MgCl2. They have an energy concentration equal to gasoline, but can be transported at room temperature with no risk of fire. When the substance is heated to 70-3600C it releases H2, which can be used to create electricity in a fuel cell, and N2. If this is done in an electric car the exhaust contains just the non-toxic gases N2and H2O. The used salt can be re-loaded with energy in the form of ammonia many times, potentially indefinitely.

This is an interesting option to halt climate change.

Key words: geothermal energy, MgCl2,Mg(NH3)6Cl2,climate change, fossil fuels, exchange, substitution