Cyclone Power Improves Performance And Durability of Waste Heat Engine
03 July 2009
Cyclone Power Technologies has achieved positive results from performance tests recently conducted on its Waste Heat Engine (WHE) (earlier post), and expects the final stage of testing prior to on-site beta installation to begin in July.
The WHE is a self-starting steam engine capable of producing up to 18 hp (10 kW of electricity) from low to medium-temperature waste heat sources. Cyclone is targeting WHE systems for applications such as small-scale cogeneration, solar thermal electricity production, biomass combustion, and engines for auxiliary power units for trucks and RVs.
The WHE is derivative of Cyclone’s external combustion Green Revolution Engine. (Earlier post.) Unlike its more powerful counterpart, the WHE operates in a low-pressure, low-temperature range using waste heat as low as 225 °F (107 °C) and pressure as low as 25 psi (172 kPa). By contrast, the GRE employs super-critical pressure (3,200 psi, 22 MPa) and super-heated steam (1,200 °F, 649 °C).
The tests involved running the WHE on heat generated from a simulated industrial furnace. The company recently modified certain design elements and materials of the WHE in an effort to reduce heat conductivity losses and engine wear. The company also improved the design of the heat exchanger to generate higher steam temperatures and pressures.
The net results of these improvements, as demonstrated by the performance testing, is expected to be an engine that operates at a broader range of temperatures, achieves higher overall efficiencies and has greater lifetime durability.
"...solar thermal electricity production..."
This is a good application, but a Tesla turbine could probably do it at lower cost and higher efficiency.
There was a California Energy Commission project that took the heat from combustion of rice straw and used a Tesla. The numbers were pretty good.
Posted by: SJC | 03 July 2009 at 10:56 AM
If the price was right I'd put one of these on my furnace and generate power during the heating season.
Posted by: Mannstein | 03 July 2009 at 08:10 PM
I believe that Cyclone Power steam engines are based on sound design and thermodynamic principle. Solar thermal electricity using Cyclone Power can be a lower-cost alternative than solar PV, in that the same engine can also provide CHP (combined Heat and Power generation) from gas furnace for winter use, thus greatly reduce overall fossil energy consumption for all seasons. Now, we need hard data on engine performance and durability and projected cost.
Posted by: Roger Pham | 04 July 2009 at 03:21 PM
A cold mirror would allow the conversion of heat and light. Even if the heat conversion were only 10% efficient, the light above IR could be converted at 30%+ efficiency with multiple junction solar cells.
Posted by: SJC | 05 July 2009 at 09:27 AM
Cogeneration is one of the lowest cost ways of reducing CO2. All buildings should be required to have cogenerators if they have natural gas available. And sometimes if they don't.
There is a free piston LION steam cogeneration system available in Germany. The Honda from Freewatt in the US has about 50,000 units installed in Japan.
Capstone turbines are available for small and very large buildings and they can supply both heat and cooling from the waste heat. UTC does this well. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 11 August 2009 at 04:13 PM