Clean Motor Power via the Liquid Air Engine from Dearman

January 24th, 2012 by Glenn Meyers

This engine, designed by Peter Dearman, runs on liquid air and leaves no carbon footprint from the exhaust pipe. This means it can compete with hydrogen and electric vehicles in the world of zero emissions – all positive news on the renewable energy transportation front.

Now comes the task of finding out how much it costs to feed this engine through injecting it with cryogenic (liquid) air. Yesterday, the respected British engineering consultancy Ricardo validated the commercial potential of Dearman engine technology. The engine operates by injecting cryogenic air into ambient heat inside the engine to produce a high-pressure gas that drives the engine, where hydrogen exhaust leaves water vapor, Dearman’s exhaust emits cold air.

Ricardo’s research endeavor hopes to verify the engine is cheaper to build than battery-electric or fuel-cell technology and that the engine is commercially viable proposition.

Peter Dearman

The Dearman engine operates without a spark plug, with cryogenic liquid air injected instead of petroleum. There isn’t any combustion but the air is stored at cryogenic temperatures (sub minus 160 degrees Celsius).

As the Dearman engine website explains:

“This is a zero emission engine that we believe can be lower cost than other alternative solutions, whilst offering highly competitive energy density and re-fuelling rates. It operates by vaporising liquid air with ambient heat to produce high pressure gas that drives the engine, with cold air as the only exhaust.”

For those wishing to see and hear Peter Dearman explain and demonstrate his technology, this video is worth the view:

According to the Dearman Engine Company, the technology operates through the controlled boiling of cryogenic liquids (e.g. air or nitrogen). If this boiling takes place in a confined space then, high-pressure gas can be produced that can be used to do the necessary work.

The website writes:

“Previous attempts to develop this technology involved large and heavy high pressure heat exchangers making it expensive and unsuitable for mobile applications.

“The Dearman Engine Company is exploiting a novel approach (patent granted) where the heat exchange process takes place inside the engine. Heat is provided by direct contact with a liquid heat exchange fluid. This step eliminates the heavy and expensive heat exchangers required previously.”

More power to them in the name of sustainability and climate stability.

Photo: Dearman Engine Company

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Tags: Cryogenic air, Dearman Engine Company, Dearman engine technology, Peter Dearman, Ricardo, zero emission cars

About the Author

Glenn Meyers is a writer, producer, and director. Meyers was editor and site director of Green Building Elements, a contributing writer for CleanTechnica, and is founder of Green Streets MediaTrain, a communications connection and eLearning hub. As an independent producer, he's been involved in the development, production and distribution of television and distance learning programs for both the education industry and corporate sector. He also is an avid gardener and loves sustainable innovation.

dcmeserve

So, what is the “liquid heat exchange fluid”, and how is it prevented from going out the tailpipe with the expanded gas?

Is it just water? If so, I guess having it go out the tailpipe wouldn’t be a problem — except your system might ice up easily. If it’s some other, more exotic fluid, then you’re going to have to take some kind of efficiency hit to retain it.

And I can’t imagine this is terribly efficient in the first place. You will most likely lose quite a substantial portion of the original energy source (I’d guess grid power) in making the cryo-air.

This in contrast to EVs, which use that grid power with 80%+ efficiency, including going to the batteries and back. And can you pack enough cryo-air and exchange fluid into a car to compete with even current battery capacities, in terms of volume and weight? And future anticipated capacities?
- Ben
  
  Guys,
  
  “It is not the critic who counts………”
  
  if you’re not familiar with Theodore Roosevelt’s quote, do look it up.
  
  As Ricardo have validated this as worthy of further investigation, I feel shooting it down in such a dismissive manner quite sad, unless of course you have a better solution, or indeed any solution?
  - Milord
    
    Well said, Ben!
  - Bob_Wallace
    
    There’s that.
    
    And there’s the kid who pointed out that the Emperor was naked.
    
    (If you’ll note, questions were asked. Not to do so, when they exist, would make one a cheerleader.)