To the Group:

The following link shows a couple engines using compressed air for
fuel.  I have also read an article about an Indian company doing the
same thing.  Three different manufacturing companies in three different
parts of the world doing the same basic concept.  Can anybody find
anything basically wrong with what they are doing?  I know that the
Wankel is used as a compressor.  If the air is reversed it could be used
as an engine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXrnCYAlUFc_
Norm DeBoer

The advantage of fuel over batteries, compressed air
and other fixed mass storage systems is that your
weight decreases.

How much does a carbon fiber air tank weigh and
how much energy can you store in it?

It might be good for a car where you can recover brake
energy.

Jeff Martin

Fill your air compressor tank to 100 psi. Turn off the compressor.
Time how long your air grinder runs.  Another guess
is it will run for about 5 minutes at the most. Multiply by 10 for 1000 PSI.
50 minutes. Double the size of the tank. 1 2/3 hours or 100 minutes.

My guess is an air grinder is 1 to 3 HP at the outside. 10 to 20 thousand
RPM.

Divide 50 HP by 3 HP or 16 times for the minimum HP needed for a small car.
So the car will run for 6.25 minutes. Triple that for 3000 psi. 18 minutes.
I think you see where I am going with this.

Paul Lamar

I see your points Paul..  But, I imagine that air grinders are quite
inefficient - single stage turbines, leaky.  Targeted at being compact
and light weight.  It seems that a slow turning piston decompressor
could be quite a bit more efficient.


Matt-

And to play the green card, how efficient is your compressor, your power
lines and your coal fired generators etc. Also a real B if you run out of
air and air drives tend to be very noisy.

John