Combustor For Coal

At the University of Pennsylvania research is being made to develop a combustor for coal. This could solve the problems with carbon deposits forming in internal combustion turbine engines. This combustor for coal will be used in high powered internal combustion turbine engines commonly used in thermal power stations. The Star Rotor turbine under development at A&M University of Texas could also be used with the coal combustor. This engine could be used for road transportation. The positive displacement turbine of the star rotor allows to be delivered over a wide range of engine speeds. The engine will need a multi gear transmission.
As long as oil prices stay over $30.00 a barrel it will be cost effective to mass produce coal water fuel at $20.00 a barrel.
Coal-water fuel can be used in a rage of external combustion engines such as the Thermo-acoustic engine. This engine converts heat energy to low frequency sound waves that drives a linear alternator. These are high efficiency engines are equal or better than present diesel engines. The electricity generated recharges on board batteries turning electric motors that propel the vehicle. A wide range of hybrid vehicles can be used including hybrid municipal buses, hybrid taxis, hybrid trucks, and hybrid trains.
The performance of these hybrid vehicles can be vastly improved with ultra capacitors. These capacitors when used with batteries can rapidly absorb and discharge large amounts of electricity. The electricity stored in the capacitors can be used during accelerations and recovered during deceleration. This will greatly extend the energy stored in batteries and reduce the amount of energy used by the engine that recharges them. Capacitors are used today in electric drag racing cards.
Another engine that can be used in hybrid electric vehicles is the Proeschel modified Ericsson cycle engine. This external combustion piston engine could use the combustor technology from University of Pennsylvania burning coal-water fuel. This engine could drive an electric generator charging batteries which would drive electric motors in hybrid vehicles.
The hot exhaust from external combustion liquid coal fueled engines could be used to drive bottom-cycle engines which would add to the efficiency of the top side engine. There are two types of bottom cycle engines one type would be battery to thermo-acoustic engine and the other type would be the steam engine.
The thermo-acoustic engine converts the exhaust heat created by the top-cycle engine into sound waves and then into electricity. An additional electric motor would be added to the drive train increasing the efficiency. The efficiency of the external combustion turbine engine with combustion temperatures at 1400 degrees F would be 20% on coal-water fuel. The bottom cycle thermo acoustic engine could operate at 28% efficiency on the exhaust heat. Combined efficiency would be 48%.
An external combustion engine with combustion temperatures over 2000 degrees F operate at 30% efficiency would have enough exhaust heat to boil water and create steam for a conventional steam engine used as a bottom engine raising the total efficiency to over 44%. If a super critical steam engine was used the efficiency could be raised to 50%. Super critical steam engines can also be used as the main engine running on coal fuel in commercial on road and train applications.

Adapted from : BeyondFossilFuel.com