skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Open-cycle coal-fired liquid-metal MHD. [Working fluid consists of mixture of coal combustion products and liquid copper]

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5749381

Open-cycle, coal-fired, liquid-metal MHD combines the simplicity of using the coal combustion products directly as the thermodynamic working fluid in the energy-conversion process with the moderate temperatures and inherent high thermodynamic efficiency of the two-phase liquid-metal MHD cycle. This new concept is described and compared with the open-cycle plasma MHD cycle, and it is shown that, in the former, temperatures are much lower and the air preheater and radiant boiler are eliminated. The constraints on the electrodynamic working fluid and the choice of copper are discussed. Recent experiments with liquid copper and coal combustion gas are described, and the indicated implications for environmental impact, i.e., SO/sub x/ and NO/sub x/ control, are discussed. Initial efficiency calculations yield values comparable to those for open-cycle plasma MHD at combustor temperatures as much as 1000 K lower and MHD generator temperatures more than 1000 K lower than is the case for open-cycle plasma MHD. Significantly, the liquid-metal MHD system uses components that, except for the generator, are close to or within present-day technology, and it appears that readily-available containment materials are compatible with the fluids.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31-109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
5749381
Report Number(s):
CONF-790640-7
Resource Relation:
Conference: 18. symposium on engineering aspects of magnetohydrodynamics, Butte, MT, USA, 18 Jun 1979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English