An Investigation into Practical Aluminum Scrap for Emergency Power Fuel in Disaster Response Situations

Abstract

As natural disasters become more frequent and severe, pitfalls of emergency logistics are exacerbated. Protracted time between the disaster and the restoration of critical infrastructure, like the power grid, can extend beyond hours or days. In the meantime, communities are left without critical resources like electricity. To address this gap, this research seeks to investigate the possibility of a system that would leverage the debris fields of a disaster to a community's advantage. Building on MIT researchers' activation of high purity aluminum to produce heat and hydrogen in a reaction with water, aluminum scrap from the field could be used to generate hydrogen for fuel cell power systems. Therefore, practical aluminum scrap, specifically the used beverage can, was investigated for its ability to react efficiently and produce hydrogen under the constraints of expeditionary equipment and techniques. Moreover, a preliminary characterization of the reaction's gas output informed the potential for fuel cell contamination. Finally, the proposed system's feasibility within the disaster policy framework is discussed. Together, these findings underscore the potential to harness aluminum scrap as a post-disaster energy source, encouraging further research.