It is said that we have 500 times more coal energy than saudi arabia has in oil energy. Whatever the actual number, COAL is the hydrocarbon fuel we should be concentrating on, not ethanol, nor bio-diesel, nor even fission-nuclear. MHD is anywhere from 60% to 90% efficient, depending on who you’re talking to.
The PROBLEM with coal-MHD is that coal slag quickly coats the throat walls, gumming it up. So they’ve been shooting the coal plasma thru the throat at mach 2 to get around that problem. But that in turn creates still further problems/inefficiencies in the system.
Years ago this inventor thought of an easier solution : 4 film-belts, as endless loops, that slide thru on the throat walls. They get coated with the coal crud/particle damage and are then cleaned off on the outside, recoated with fast setting gel/paint, and fed back thru the throat again. They also help COOL the cryogenic MHD unit.
With (former) Sen. Conrad Burns help, got the idea to the DOE where it got the one-soldier-at-attention finger salute, as I knew it would. The DOE is the LAST place you go for innovative thinking.
Why not just use TEFLON COATED our SILVERSTONE process?......