It’s Not Easy Being Green
 (left to right) Amy, Pike, and Casey gather around an instrument for studying the effects of super-heating hydrogen peroxide. |
With all due respect to Kermit the Frog, he may have been a little off the mark when he sang, “It’s not easy being green. It seems you blend in with so many other ord’nary things.” With alternative fuel sources being created for everything from automobiles to home heating, one LSU professor is working hard to develop an environmentally friendly, or “green,” rocket propellant that is anything but “ord’nary.”
Following the February 1, 2003, space shuttle Columbia accident, National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) investigators began focusing on what caused the crash, what could be done to lessen the possibility of a similar event happening again, and, if one were to reoccur, how people on the ground could be better protected.
One concern for bystanders on the ground was the possibility of contamination from the shuttle’s propellant, hydrazine - a toxic and flammable liquid. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to hydrazine can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, dizziness, headaches, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, and possibly even comas.
Due to concerns over human exposure to hydrazine, which has been used as a propellant since its initial development in World War II, various government entities have begun looking at more environmentally friendly alternatives. One potential source is hydrogen peroxide, the focus of LSU Department of Chemical Engineering and Minerals Processing Research Institute Professor Ralph Pike.
Hot Stuff
 According to Pike, one drop of propellant-grade hydrogen peroxide, like the one shown on the monitor, could set a leather shoe ablaze. |
The Minerals Processing Research Institute and Sierra Engineering, Inc. of Carson City, NV, were awarded a grant from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command for study of the thermal decomposition of propellant-grade hydrogen peroxide. The substance they are working on is 98 percent hydrogen peroxide, nearly 20 times stronger than the five percent version sold in pharmacies to clean cuts, scrapes, and, in years past, bleach hair blonde. According to Pike, using this concentration of the chemical on hair is not advisable.
“One drop on a leather shoe could catch it on fire,” said Pike. “So, we’re very careful with it.”
Drop-by-drop is exactly how Pike, his research associate Casey, and student worker Amy work with the chemical. One pint of the super-concentrated substance costs $1,800, so a great deal of care is given to make every little bit count, said Pike.
“To understand the behavior of one drop is to understand all drops and how it all works,” said Pike.
With each drop, the team monitors the rate of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Suspended from a fiber-optic filament, one drop of the chemical is heated to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it reaches this temperature, the hydrogen peroxide begins to decompose and the team uses a high-tech camera to video the drop at 30 frames per second. A computer then breaks down each frame and calculates diameter changes in the drop, allowing the team to measure its mass.
In contrast to Hydrazine, hydrogen peroxide leaves no residue or pollution behind. As it decomposes, it separates into water and oxygen. The water then evaporates due to the heat in the rocket’s combustion chamber, leaving behind water vapor and oxygen gas, which poses no harm to the environment.
Another Kind of Green
 Casey and Amy review their work. |
Hydrogen peroxide also has an immediate advantage over other propellants because it requires less equipment and parts for each rocket, making them more cost effective to build.
Sierra Engineering will take Pike’s research and begin designing trial models, which will be built at LSU. After extensive testing and assessment, these models will be used in the future on actual space flights and land-based rocket systems.
In developing a cost-effective fuel that is also good for the environment, Pike and his associates are helping to bring the LSU Minerals Processing Research Institute to national prominence in the field of alternative fuel research.
Come to think of it, even Kermit finally realized that “green can be cool and friendly-like.”
Contact Todd Miller | LSU
University Relations
Contact J.T. Lane | LSU Research & Graduate
Studies
Highlights Team
Summer 2005
