The plant run by Highview Power Storage – a company co-founded by Dearman and jointly funded by the UK government – can generate 500 kilowatts of power, he says, but there is nothing to stop them being made on a much larger scale. “We take a large tank, heat it with waste heat and that creates the pressure that runs the turbine which creates electricity … simple,” he says. Read: Toy chopper takes mental concentration to new heightsĪ huge vacuum flask at the facitlity holds 60 tons of liquid air, but instead of anti-freeze, they mix it with waste heat coming from the neighboring power station.īut the principles are exactly the same, Dearman says. So you have to be able to store a certain amount of it to cope with peak demand,” Dearman said.Ī pilot power plant in Slough, Berkshire – the first of its kind in the world – is currently trialing the technology. “ is essential because, with any renewable energy source, it’s variable. Liquid air could also help store surplus energy generated by wind and solar. The company say the engine has “numerous practical applications in the future market place … and is likely to compete with hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric systems.” The technology has caught the eye of British engineering company Ricardo who are currently building an engine based on Dearman’s design for use in agricultural vehicles and mining equipment.
#LIQUID AIR CODE#
Read: Shutter shades creates new fashion code Today, he demonstrates a custom-built car which runs smoothly around a farmyard near his home. The heat exchange fluid keeps the gas warm (as the piston moves up and down) and increases the efficiency.”ĭearman has come a long way since he developed his first working prototype using a modified a lawn mower engine. “Into that we introduce liquid nitrogen which is atomized and gives us good heat contact.
“The unique thing about this engine is that it uses a heat exchange fluid (in this case, anti-freeze) which is placed on top of the piston in the cylinder,” Dearman explains. Whilst building a car powered by liquid air is nothing new – a model was demonstrated as early as 1903 – Dearman’s adaptation is. So you have to able to store a certain amount of it to cope with peak demand If this process of reheating is conducted in a confined space, say, an engine cylinder, it creates high pressure air which can drive a piston. When exposed to heat, the liquid starts to expand as it turns back into a gas. Read: Mine Kafon: The low-tech tumbleweed minesweeper Liquid air is essentially air which has been cooled to very low, or cryogenic, temperatures (around -190 degrees Celsius or -310 degrees Fahrenheit) and can be stored in insulted containers. It’s very difficult if you just go to people with ideas – you can’t actually show them it working,” Dearman says.Īll that hard work is starting to pay off, as interest in the 61-year-old’s invention – which has applications for both motoring and renewable energy storage – gathers pace. “I don’t think it’s any good having ideas and not being able to make them. The British inventor has been tinkering with “liquid air” engines at his home in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire for more than three decades. Watching Peter Dearman at work amid the clutter in his garage cum workshop, it’s easy to see why one of his sons refers to him as a sort of “nutty professor.”
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