Two Spanish engineers have designed a remote-controlled car – the DAlH2Orean – which runs on a combination of recycled aluminium soda can tabs and sodium hydroxide, creating a zero-emissions hydrogen vehicle.
Created by Aleix Lovet and Xavier Salueña of the Polytechnic Institute of Catalonia, the DAlH2Orean is the world’s first remote-controlled car to run on aluminium soda can tabs.
The car uses hydrogen power generated from a chemical reaction in which the aluminium tabs are mixed with a solution of sodium hydroxide and water. The hydrogen generated from this reaction powers a hydrogen fuel cell, which in turn powers the car. The energy is clean, with no CO2 emissions at all. The full reaction is slightly more complex than that, involving a few filters (silica gel to remove moisture, vinegar to remove hydroxides), but that’s the basic idea.
The car itself is capable of running at close to 20 mph, with a range of about 40 minutes, which is pretty impressive given how small it is. The duo that created the project hopes to eventually create ‘microcars’ with much more power, yet the same zero-emissions attributes.
dAlH2Orean H2 R/C Car powered by Aluminium from Aleix Llovet on Vimeo.
Source: popsci.com
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024