HydroICE Project Developing a Solar-Powered Combustion Engine 144
cylonlover writes "OK, first things first – stop picturing a car with solar panels connected to its engine. What Missouri-based inventors Matt Bellue and Ben Cooper are working on is something a little different than that. They want to take an internal combustion engine, and run it on water and solar-heated oil instead of gasoline. That engine could then be hooked up to a generator, to provide clean electricity. While that may sound a little iffy to some, Bellue and Cooper have already built a small-scale prototype."
Re:On the oil/steam separator... (Score:4, Insightful)
seems stupid, though: we have good heat-exchangers that don't require mixing the two fluids. Just coiled metal pipes (add fins if needed) would do the trick.
The point of mixing the fluids is that you cannot otherwise impart enough heat to flash boil the water.
Not to mention that it's really hard to do what you're suggesting inside the cylinder
That is just not true. Look at a steam catapult, or a pressure cooker, or even a classic rail locomotive. You just need a boiler under some pressure.
There is zero reason to mix the fluids and then add a separator (which is a real pain in the ass given the oil is in a closed cycle.)
The whole point of their technique is that they create steam inside the strongest part of an engine.
As it turns out, oil and water will try to separate on their own, which makes this a less than complicated issue.
"Trying to separate" is a lot different from actually separating. Heat a pan of oil to 400 degrees in your kitchen, now dribble water drops onto the oil for a minute or two. Notice how greasy your kitchen tops are getting? Heat transfer == physical motion in liquids == oil in your steam.
How do you plan to separate the stream/oil droplet mixture? Do simple experiment: shake a pint of cooking oil and water together. How long did they take to separate back out? 1 hour to get to 95%? Now try it at high temperatures: you are talking days unless you have a serious refrigeration unit in your engine.