Let us not underestimate Rossi. The account of how Rossi loaded the fuel into the alumina tubes told by the TPR2 report does not sound like Rossi when through a complicated time consuming and/or involved alumina sealing process to protect against hydrogen leakage.
An excerpt from the Lugano report: "A thermocouple probe, inserted into one of the caps, allows the control system to manage power supply to the resistors by measuring the internal temperature of the reactor. The hole for the thermocouple probe is also the only access point for the fuel charge. The thermocouple probe cable is inserted in an alumina cement cylinder, which acts as a bushing and perfectly fits the hole, about 4 mm in diameter. When charging the reactor, the bushing is pulled out, and the charge is inserted. After the thermocouple probe has been lodged back in place, the bushing is sealed and secured with alumina cement. To extract the charge, pliers are used to open the seal." These recent tests by MFMP indicate that sealing alumina from hydrogen leakage is a challenge. But the Rossi Hot Cat did run for weeks without apparent loss of hydrogen. Rossi has come up with a way to effectively seal alumina. How could have Rossi made the alumina tube resistant to hydrogen leakage? Could Rossi have used a self sealing additive included in the fuel mix that entered the pores of the alumina after the reactor was started to minimize hydrogen exfiltration? There was a large amount of carbon in the element analysis of the fuel load. Could it be that Rossi used a organic sealant to stop hydrogen leakage? An excerpt from the Lugano report: "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." Where did all those rather high concentrations of elements go? Could it be that the C, Ca, Cl, Fe, Mg, and Mn were nano particles used to seal the fuel including hydrogen by blocking the pores of the alumina in a self anodizing process in the initial stages during of reactor startup? Carbon is a well know hydrogen blocker.
