Quasiturbine> Advantages> Environment

 

Environmental benefits improve with better engine concepts.
With today concerns about the future of our planet,
acknowledging the Quasiturbine may fall into the realm of a social obligation...

Quasiturbine Environment

International Concerns

In his forward statement of December 15, 2003 about the Quasiturbine White Paper,
Mr. Myron D. Stokes, www.emotionreports.com wrote :

In the context of the international environmental and resources depletion discussions such as the Kyoto Accord, and taking into account the general population conviction that climate changes are currently endangering our planet, there is a new sense of urgency mandating that no energy technologies can be discarded, and this is particularly true of any sound engine concept breakthroughs. The Quasiturbine technology is among the very few energy and environment tools we have to address our present concerns, and one precious new means available to improve our vital collective objective.

It goes without saying that acknowledging its existence may fall into the realm of a social obligation.

Hydrogen: Not Zero Pollution

Excludes NOx and H2S environmental concerns. Fossil fuel contains carbon and hydrogen. Carbon combustion produces CO2 which the photosynthesis fixes the carbon into the biomass, and return the O2 to the atmosphere. Hydrogen combustion fixes the O2 from the air into water, which oxygen is also liberated back in the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Since there is not enough photosynthesis to digest all the CO2, there is not enough either do process all this synthetic water. Massive hydrogen use has the net effect of removing oxygen from the atmosphere of our planet and fixing it into water. CO2 problem is not dissociable from Oxygen depletion. Hydrogen produced from water (avoiding electrolyses degradation of precious electricity) will do the same if the oxygen is not liberated to the atmosphere at the time of production, which is unlikely, considering that oxygen is precious for industrial process and will rather be fixed by other chemical process, unless we could not make use of all the massive quantity produced?

As a result, unless oxygen is made free to the atmosphere when produce, we can not say that transforming hydrogen into water vapor (including by combustion or fuel cells) is pollution free, when 2H does definitively removed 1 precious oxygen atom form the surface of our planet! (some calculation show this is not an issue, but?). Both CO2 and oxygen depletion are concerns. Synthetic fuel made out of CO2 from the air or other environment would be more neutral and acceptable - However, where will the energy to do that come from?

Free Green House Gas Internal Combustion Engine: Hydrocarbons contain only Carbon and Hydrogen which are separated by heat, and recombine with air's oxygen to make water and CO2. People are complaining of bad combustion when engine is making black carbon particles though the exhaust, but this may be good new for GHG? In fact, a way to have a GHG pollution free combustion engine (with somewhat less total power) is to burn only the hydrogen from the hydrocarbon fuel, and recover the <burnt> Carbon (...not dropping it in fine particles in the environment). This is in some way what fuelcell (reformer) are attempting to do, by <burning> only the hydrogen. Modern diesel engine captures carbon particle in after treatment filers - where burning it does not bring any energy, worse is producing pure CO2! So, not burning the carbon from the hydrocarbon fuel would be a way equivalent or better than the CO2 sequestration. The carbon in the fossil fuel would then only play the role of a hydrogen storage chemical bound, a simple way to go around hydrogen storage.

Engine Pollution

Pneumatic, steam, Stirling and hydrogen engines may not produce much pollution at their level, but a critical look must nevertheless be given to the anterior stages of the energy cascade. Combustion engine pollution goes from liberating the CO2 by fossil fuel combustion (CO2 could be pollution free only if captured initially by synthetic fuel manufacturing process), nitrogen oxides production, particulates, lubrication, excess heat, noise, vibration, environmental recycling... Excess thermal pollution is also part of the concern.

Engine Exhaust Heat Recovery:
By placing a hot Quasiturbine into or around an engine exhaust pipe, and injecting pressurized hot water (steam keep in the liquid state for better heat transfer), some heat can be recovered into mechanical energy. Stirling and short steam circuit Quasiturbine could do similarly!

NOx, Noise, Vibration

Less pollution and more fuels options: In all engine, the NOx results from three factors: high pressures, high temperatures, and prolonged times of confinement. As the Quasiturbine expansion starts earlier than in the other engines, the initial temperatures and pressures are less, as well as the time of confinement in the extreme conditions. Piston mass injection (droplet density and inertia are greater that vapor and affected by valve flow perturbation) and exhaust valve cooling (rapid combustion is hotter) are two other vaporization piston limitations. However, fully pre-vaporized gasoline does improve combustion quality and is desirable from the environment point of view even if the piston engines do not stand it well... (conventional gas turbines prefer gaseous state or very rapid liquid fuel vaporization).

Less noisy: For comparable power, the Quasiturbine is much quieter than the piston engine, since it splits each expansion in 4 per turn (or 8 by 2 turns for the 4 stroke engines), and evacuates the gases more gradually and on a greater angular displacement (in opposition to the piston which evacuates gases especially at mid course).

Zero Vibration: The foundation of the Dr. Raynaud syndrome in Chicago is dedicated to the preoccupant problem of vibrations. The vibrating portable tools (of which the chainsaws) gave name to the " disease of the logger " which goes from insensitivity of the hands and the arms, until the back bone pain, and capillary vessels and blood bursting. The professional truck drivers generally suffer from the syndromes of vibrations. The Quasiturbine is a perfectly balanced engine which turns without vibration, and generates less noise. This the motive for our priority project of a therapeutic chainsaw with zero vibration to fully emphasize the characteristics of Quasiturbine.

Quasiturbine CO2 reduction

The CO2 is the prime consequence of using fossil fuel, a by-product that even a perfect engine will not be able to circumvent (CO2 could be pollution free only if captured initially by synthetic fuel manufacturing process). For a given amount of net energy needed, a CO2 reduction can only be obtained by an increase in engine efficiency. The Quasiturbine increases the efficiency in several ways with substantial reduction in CO2:

  • Because it does not have internal accessories to drive, like the piston cam shaft and valve train, less fuel is burn to satisfied the need of the end users.
  • Because of the shaping of the volume pressure pulse, the thermodynamic of the Quasiturbine can be far superior, and required less fuel.
  • Because the engine weight is about 1/4 that of a piston, less fuel is needed in many applications.
  • Because the Quasiturbine is a high torque low rpm engine, no fuel is needed and lost in the transmission gears.
  • Because the Quasiturbine can be made of large size and modulated in power, it could cut utilities fuel consumption or co-generation steam.
  • Because the Quasiturbine (AC model with carriages) has the potential to run in detonation mode, 50% fuel saving in transportation application could be reach.

Other Environmental Benefits

The environmentally friendly Quasiturbine engine helps mitigate several user inconveniences:

  • Atmospheric gas pollution - Having a reduced combustion confinement time, the NOx are are produced in lower concentration.
  • Thermal pollution - Having an early mechanical extraction capability, less thermal energy is released in the environment.
  • Noise pollution - Having 4 combustions per rotation, and due to a longer gas relaxation chamber, noise is reduced by a factor of 20 or more !
  • Vibration pollution - Vibrations are responsible for billions of $ of breakdown everywhere. Dr. Raynaud vibration syndrome is affecting thousands of wood workers and truck drivers. The Quasiturbine is a vibration free engine.
  • Oil free engine - Lubrication is source of pollution. The Quasiturbine has potential to be an oil free engine.
  • Steam and pneumatic power source - Where pollution free engine is suitable, the Quasiturbine is a superior and efficient gas expander. The Quasiturbine is also suitable for co-generation projects.
  • The Quasiturbine engine is ideal for solar thermal station using close liquid-vapor steam circuit.

  • Hydrogen compatible - Hydrogen fragilises steel, and degrades all oils. The Quasiturbine has a cool and stratified intake area most suitable for pure hydrogen engine (lubricant free) combustion.

  • Photo detonation compatible.

The chemists prefer the detonation combustion, because it is faster and more complete. Short pressure pulse and fast pressure rising and falling ramp characteristics make the Quasiturbine ideal for detonation mode. This is the most important Quasiturbine revolution to expect on the long term.

An Immediate Environmental Tool

Engines are at the end of the energy chain, and their pollutions are in the most immediate users environment. Better engines are keys to better environment, not only because of their own improved efficiencies, but also because any bit a improvement has directly amplified impacts on all anterior stages of the energy cascade and industry.

A lot of research are going on to reduce environmental concerns on the long term, like hydrogen, fuel cell, high temperature nuclear reactor, nuclear fusion... Hybrid concepts are ways to harvest part of the "low power efficiency penalty" of the piston engine used in vehicle, but counter-productive measures limit the long term perspective until they could efficiently fuel from the electrical grid. None of these solutions are short term stable and competitive. The Quasiturbine in Beau de Rocha (Otto) cycle is a relatively simple technology which could be widely used within a few years with substantial environmental benefits over the piston engines in many applications.

Large utility plants convert energy more efficiently than small distributed units and should be favored when possible. The detonation Quasiturbine engine is one of the few long term means to match utility efficiency the distributed way, while being as chemistry clean as possible.

 

More Technical

quasiturbine.promci.qc.ca/QTperformance.html