E-Cat energy evaluation

A. Bobeszko
In the luganoreportsubmit there are a few statements regarding the mass of the fuel and the isotopic
compositions of the fuel and the ash http://www.elforsk.se/lenr-matrapport-publicerad/.
It states that total sample was about 10 mg, i.e. only a small part of the total fuel weight of 1 g used
in the reactor.. Also, The fuel contains natural nickel powder with a grain size of a few microns. The
existence of natural Nickel content is confirmed by all four analyzing methods being used. In addition
the fuel is found to be mixed with a component containing hydrogen, i.e. probably a chemical hydride.
From all combined analysis methods of the fuel we find that there are significant quantities of Li, Al,
Fe and H in addition to Ni. Moreover from the EDS and XPS analysis one finds large amounts of C and
O., and It is plausible that the fuel is mixed with the standard Lithium Aluminum Hydride, LiAlH4.
Further evidence of that is obtained from the ICP-AES analysis which shows that the mass ratio
between Li and Al is compatible with a LiAlH4 molecule. Regarding the amounts of lithium and
nickel the report states that From the ICP-AES analysis we find that there is about 0.011 gram of 7Li
in the 1 gram fuel, and there is about 0.55 gram Ni in the fuel.
This means that there was 0.0644 g of LiAlH4 in the fuel, including 0.00684 g of hydrogen. Thus,
the amount of LiAlH4 and nickel in the fuel did not exceed 0.62 g.
Regarding the net energy produced it states that The total net energy obtained during the 32 days
run was about 1.5 MWh., If each 7Li nucleus releases about 17 MeV we find then that the total
energy available becomes 0.72 MWh., and It should be pointed out that the fusion towards heavier
isotopes of Nickel releases energy. For example the reaction p+58Ni 59Cu+ and 59Cu decaying back
to 59Ni via + emission releases 3.4 MeV. Even if that particular reaction is excluded, since no gammas
are observed, we can tentatively use this number for each step towards 62Ni, and the information from
ICP-AES that there is about 0.55 gram Ni in the fuel. We find then that there is about 2.2MWh
available from the Nickel transformations. Accordingly, from Nickel and Lithium together there is
about 3 MWh available.
It is interesting to note that in the Uppsala report there is a statement Besides the analyzed elements
it has been found that the fuel also contains rather high concentrations of C, Ca, Cl, Fe, Mg, Mn and
these are not found in the ash. There is no explanation why those elements are not present in the ash.
Does that mean that the remaining mass 0.38 g of the fuel powder consists of those elements and what
role do they play in the E-Cat reactions?.
With regard to the isotopic composition of the ash it states that at the end of the run a depletion of
Li in the ash was revealed by both the SIMS and the ICP-MS methods, and There is a depletion of
the 58Ni and 60Ni isotopes and a buildup of the 62Ni isotopes in the burning process.
7

In http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/1504.01261 there is a discussion of isotopic abundances found in the

E-Cat reactor with regard to the nuclear mechanisms responsible for excess heat and an attempt to
explain isotopic changes in Li and Ni by nuclear reactions.
The notebook E-Cat fuel/ash isotopic composition evaluates isotopic abundances by removing 7Li
in lithium and by adding 62Ni or removing the other isotopes in nickel. It also shows amount of H that
should be used in reactions with 7Li and nickel to give the observed isotopic composition of ashes.
In the fuel, provided that the only source of hydrogen is LiAlH4, there are 6.785*10^-3 mol of H,
1.571*10^-3 mol of 7Li and 9.371*10^-3 mol of Ni.
Let us assume that reaction between hydrogen and 7Li gives 17.35 MeV per reaction.
In order to explain the observed isotopic change in lithium the amount of H in reaction with 7Li
should be 0.9066*1.571*10^-3=1.424*10^-3 mol in the Dalarna report, giving the net energy 662.3
kWh, and 0.8974*1.571*10^-3=1.410*10^-3 mol in the Uppsala report, giving the net energy 655.6
kWh. The rest of available hydrogen can be used in reactions with nickel.

-2Let us assume that reactions between hydrogen and nickel are at 3.4 MeV per reaction as suggested
in the test, and consider two scenarios of change the observed isotopic abundances:
1) by adding (enriching) 62Ni when the amounts of other isotopes remain unchanged,
2) by removing (depleting) all isotopes with exception of 62Ni which amount remains unchanged.
1) In the first scenario to explain the observed isotopic change in nickel the amount of H should be
72.92*1.571*10^-3=0.1146 mol in the Dalarna report, well above the amount of H remaining from the
reaction with 7Li, giving the net energy 10439 kWh, and 135.86*1.571*10^-3=0.2134 mol in the
Uppsala report, well above the amount of H remaining from the reaction with 7Li, giving the net energy
19449 kWh. As such large amounts of hydrogen are not contained in the fuel and such large net
energies are not observed in the tests, enriching 62Ni without change in amounts of other isotopes does
not take place.
2) In the second scenario to explain the observed isotopic change in nickel the amount of H should
be 0.9605*1.571*10^-3=1.509*10^-3 mol in the Dalarna report, below the amount of H remaining
from the reaction with 7Li, giving the net energy 701.7 kWh, and 0.9477*1.571*10^-3=1.489*10^-3
mol in the Uppsala report, below the amount of H remaining from the reaction with 7Li, giving the net
energy 692.3 kWh.
However, the reliable evaluation of net energy in reactions of hydrogen with lithium and nickel is
not possible without the knowledge of their nature, especially how it is possible to overcome the
Coulomb barrier present in such reactions. There are many theories of low-energy fusion, some of them
mentioned in http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/1504.01261, and the latest one the thermal resonance fusion
described in http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/1507.01650.
And most importantly, as in the previous tests of the E-Cat analyses of elemental and isotopic
compositions of their ashes gave different results, all above evaluations are based on belief that the
observed isotopic changes in the ashes in the Dalarna and Uppsala reports are factual. Therefore, more
E-Cat tests and analyses of elemental and isotopic compositions of its fuels and ashes in different
laboratories are essential for confirmation large changes in the isotopic composition of ashes.