Cyclone Power Technologies, a Pompano Beach, Florida company, focuses on solving our dependence on fossil fuels with its heat regenerative external combustion engines. In a recent press release Cyclone announced that it has received a patent in South Africa for its waste energy recycling engine called the WHE, or the Waste Heat Engine.
The South African patent issued from the national phase filing of World Intellectual Property Organization International Patent Number WO 2010/062375 A2, entitled “Waste Heat Engine” (‘375 Patent). The ‘375 Patent, in turn, corresponds to U.S. Patent Application No. 2010/0107637 also entitled “Waste Heat Engine”.
The ’375 Patent describes a Rankine Cycle heat regenerative external combustion engine, also known as a Schoell Cycle engine. The engine is basically a modern day, high-tech, steam engine with a radial arrangement of cylinders.
Figure 10, below, represents the Waste Heat Engine (WHE) as shown in the ’375 Patent.
According to the ’375 Patent:
Referring to FIG. 3 [below], each cylinder (20) in the radial arrangement includes a reciprocating piston assembly (50), including piston head (52) that moves in a reciprocating motion within the cylinder (20) through a full piston stroke.
Figure 3
This engine works when steam enters the top of each of the six radially arranged cylinders (20) and pushs the pistons (54) downward in sequence.
The rotating action of the pistons connected through the spyder bearing (60) turns the crank shaft (24) in an orbiting motion around the central longitudinal axis of the crankshaft (24).
Steam escapes the cylinders through exhaust ports and is collected in a condensing unit (not shown) where it is turned back into water.
The engine does not use motor oil as water is both the working fluid and the lubricant. The water system is a closed system, meaning the water does not need to be replaced or topped off.
The engine can run on any source of heat, including waste heat from industrial sources. Industrial sources could include glass melting furnaces, cement kilns, incinerators, boilers, steel furnaces, and engine exhaust.
Captured and reused waste heat puts waste to work, is an emission free substitute for fuels or electricity, and can be incorporated into existing infrastructure.
Cyclone recently announced a Teaming Agreement with Enginuity Energy LLC, an innovator and manufacturer of biomass gasifiers. The agreement describes the companies’ “desire to develop and advance the commercialization of a modular 35kWe to 250kWe biomass-to-power generating system.”
Enginuity’s technology converts biomass into thermal energy that can be used by the WHE to produce electricity.
To view a short video on how the Cyclone WHE works, click here.
Article by David Gibbs, appearing courtesy Green Patent Blog.
