Patent ID: 7900453

Claim:
A metal fuel combustion system having: a metal fuel mixture; an oxidant; a water source having water; a combustion device for combusting the metal fuel mixture, the combustion device having an inner chamber and an outer chamber; at least one fluid inlet attached to the outer chamber for directing the water from the water source into the outer chamber; at least one oxidant inlet attached to the inner chamber for directing the oxidant into the inner chamber; at least one fuel feeder having the metal fuel mixture, the fuel feeder feeding the metal fuel mixture into the inner chamber of the combustion device; at least one first outlet attached to the outer chamber for discharging steam; at least one second outlet attached to the inner chamber for discharging hydrogen and steam; a byproduct collector, the byproduct collector having a processing device for processing the byproduct; a turbine downstream of the combustion device, communicating with the first outlet to receive steam from the first outlet to extract energy from the steam; wherein the combustion device includes: an outer wall defining the outer boundary of the outer chamber; one or more layers of photovoltaic materials lining the inner side of the outer wall, the one or more layers of photovoltaic materials for converting light energy into electrical energy; an inner wall defining the outer boundary of the inner chamber, wherein the inner wall comprises a two-wall structure having a first wall and a spaced apart heat-shield wall; and one or more layers of thermoelectric materials positioned between the first wall and the heat-shield wall, the one or more layers of thermoelectric materials for converting heat energy to electrical energy.