We discussed the other day here about the possibility of using a battery to ‘drive’ the E-Cat — as a heat source to start it up, and control the reaction — but there are other power sources that could serve the same function, and today on the Journal of Nuclear Physics, Steven Karels raised the possibilty of using the sun as the source. Here’s a Q & A between Karels and Rossi:
You have previously stated that the burning of natural gas can be the thermal input source for eCat technology (please confirm).
AR: I confirm that we are working on the use of gas.
What I have in mind —
1. do you think a large solar thermal plant could provide that thermal input to an eCat?
AR: why not?
2. The thermal power eCat could heat a molten salt to a higher temperature than normally provided by a solar thermal system.
3. The higher thermal temperature of the stored molten salt could result in an improved Carnot efficiency and resulting conversion to electricity.
AR: the increase of efficiency depends on the integral of efficiency in function of temperature for the molten salt in question, at the due pressure. Rules are the same as for any other heat source.
4. The stored higher temperature molten salt could produce electricity continuously, even during times of darkness.
AR: why not? Again, after the E-Cat system, the heated fluid behaves like in any other heating system.
Without releasing any proprietary information on the eCat operation, does this approach seem possible?
I would think that while solar thermal is a possible way to power the E-Cat it would be a complex and expensive system to set up as opposed to using mains electricity or gas — but over time it could prove to be cost-effective since sunlight is a free and constant source of energy, and electricity and gas supplies can be interruped and fluctuate in price. So it’s another possible configuration for the E-Cat that would have to be examined carefully.
I still think there must be ways to use the heat output of the E-Cat itself to provide the required heat to drive the E-Cat in some kind of looped system — maybe the heat output of the E-Cat itself could be stored in molten salt as Steven Karels suggests here — and you would not need to involve any external power source. It sounds like an engineering challenge that I am sure will be looked at at some point; maybe it already has.