Reply To: Mind, Spirit, Science connection?

[zapkitty]

Brian H wrote: Check the total efficiency, fuel therms consumed to therms wasted. I think you’ll find that FF is throwing away far less heat than any competitive energy gen method per MW generated, from shovel or well to output.

Topical example: Each of the units at the afflicted Fukushima plant had to reject 3 times as many megawatts worth of heat as they produced of electricity. 33%.

Coal and oil fired plants on average range from 30% to 49%.

Gas turbine plants average about 50% with very expensive heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) in their exhaust systems boosting that to 60% in one plant in Wales at the current highest level.

If an FF unit can produce only twice as much heat as it does electricity, 50%, without needing to resort to steam, turbines, or HRSG then it has all major players beat hands down and walking away on cost vs. thermal efficiency as well as cost per MW… and global adoption would actually lower the current total heat output of power stations worldwide.

And of course the heat produced by all power stations combined is irrelevant to the warming caused by their CO2 emissions.

Brian H wrote: The problem is the SIZE of the FF rig: it’s too small! So the temp rises fast. I put it to you that the real problem is high electrode temperatures, not total heat disposal. Once extracted from the core, the only heat-handling equipment that will pay its way is about the level of ducts and fans. Maybe hypothetical hi-efficiency thermocouples, if they’re cheap and durable enough.

Yes, once boron fusion is demonstrated the first issue in designing a practical power generator will not be the ion coil(s) or even the x-ray conversion “onion”… it will be to cool the core. How much He is needed at what pressure in what kind of internal electrode design?

I look forward to it 🙂