Modification of Aluminum-Water Reaction to Produce Hydrogen with Useful Byproducts for Industrial Applications

Reaction of water with ball milled and activated aluminum powder is considered as a method to generate hydrogen. This study shows that beside production of hydrogen, the aluminum-water reaction can be modified to produce different kinds of byproducts. Wet milling of Al powder in water is examined to promote Al-water reaction. Milling time of ball milling process is considered as parameter that remarkably changes the morphology of aluminum hydroxides and can produce various submicron or nano-rod particles. In order to see the effect of calcination process, the produced aluminum hydroxide was calcined in regular furnace and microwave at 1100°C. Depending on the milling time of the original aluminum powder and type of calcination, different percentage of α and γ alumina has been produced. The Rietveld method was applied to the X ray diffraction patterns of produced powders to calculate the quantity of different phases. Results show that the reaction of aluminum with water has the potential to be modified in such a way that its byproducts can be used almost directly in industrial applications.