Is the Compressed Air Engine Better than Petrol/Diesel Eng

Compressed air engines are as old as the steam engine therefore why havent we been using them rather than the engines that run on petrol and diesel. Have petrol companies or greedy governments (tax) been keeping this from us? Your comments would be appreciated.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• petrol
• diesel
• oil
• barrel
• price
• cost
• engine
• car
• bike
• lorry
• race
• air
• compressed
• money

[brettymike]

Yes ,compressed air engines are as old as the hills,but they haven't been used much at all because they have a low power output,and don't go very far on a tank of fuel(air).

[0nem1leh1gh]

We are probably at the dawn of split cycle engines, and they are in fact some sort of compressed air engines.

[coolaadit]

its quite educative

[fairyheli2]

no

[joaquinveyron]

Why we havent been using compressed air engines?? Because compressed air is the least efficient form of energy carrier. Full stop.

[Tinkrr1]

lf you want lots of info on compressed air engines & more, then go to Pneumatic Options 2009 Research Library Access--then scroll down to where it saysDownload Pdf files--then go down to--- item#04A00 Self-Fueling Air Cars & download the whole manual for free. lts a great manual !!! He has alot of ggod stuff!!!

[GMBCATASTROPHE]

Now it is in such situations where you could get far more fuel efficiency from air power. You are introducing another conversion of energy its true. And you always lose some energy in conversion. But in air compression the losses are far less than pretty much any other conversion. But here you get the efficiency advantages of a small engine running all the time. And getting the power of a large engine via the use of the air intermittently.

[GMBCATASTROPHE]

But there is another source of efficiency even when you are generating the energy "on-board" Supposing you have a truck that does urban deliveries. Or a boat that works intermittently. Now supposing you have a compressor that runs on diesel. But with a diesel engine large enough to be efficient, yet too small to run the truck, bus or boat directly?

[GMBCATASTROPHE]

Petrol and diesel hold the most energy per weight. More than any battery, or series of compressed air tanks. But if you have an efficient electrical generating system, that you get from economies of scale, like from nuclear or coal, there can be many applications, particularly of a short-range nature, where air is going to be powerfully more efficient.

[rancheroman1961]

compressed air is a nice source of energy...the real problem is actually replacing that energy efficiently enough so you can keep going...if you use the same principal as regenerative braking in a electric hybrid towards a compressed air engine to refill the tanks I could see a way to further the trip...the trick is to find a way to refill the tank with less force will allow a full circle of energy, then you will have a great product to sell.