The Amps family of patents describes and protects a group of external combustion engines (including Amps, Moreamps and Euroamps) that recover energy from a heat source to produce useful work or electricity. There are many existing technologies that allow useful work to be obtained from a heat source, such as the steam cycles used in large power stations or the internal combustion engines in automobiles. However, these existing technologies typically
draw energy from very high temperature heat sources (such as the high combustion temperatures near 1000 oC inside an internal combustion engine), which are generally referred to as "high grade" heat sources. The dependence on high grade heat sources typically limits the use of most existing power generation technology to specific fuels and operating conditions.
The feature of the Amps heat engines is that they are configured to draw energy from "lowgrade" heat sources at temperatures less than approximately 150 oC. This greatly widens the potential operating range of the Amps family of patents, compared to most existing technology. At these low temperatures, efficiency (the proportion of energy recovered from the heat source and converted into electricity) is typically very low, meaning that it has, in the past, been difficult to justify the use of low grade heat sources from an economic point of view. Thus, there are very few commercially successful technologies that use low grade heat sources. However, current social, political and economic factors indicate that this situation is beginning to change, with the use of low grade heat sources likely to become highly favourable in some applications.
All heat engines waste energy. In a modern power station, maximum efficiencies of approximately 50 - 60 % are typically obtained, meaning that only 50 - 60 % of the energy released by the heat source (burning coal, for example) is converted into electricity. Similarly, in an internal combustion engine, efficiencies are generally near 30 %, meaning that only one third of the energy released by burning the petrol or diesel is converted into kinetic energy (vehicular motion). For example, if petrol costs $1.20 per litre, this means only approximately
40 c of every $1.20 of fuel cost is directly converted into motion. Most of the remaining 2 energy (and fuel cost) is "dumped" into the atmosphere by the radiator and in the hot exhaust gasses. Historically, fuel costs have been sufficiently low, meaning that the inherently wasteful use of conventional power generation technology has been acceptable to industry and the average consumer. However, fuel costs are rising due to increasing demand, the depletion of oil reserves (and other fossil fuels) and the costs associated with reducing the environmental
impact of conventional fuel sources (such as converting to "clean coal" or nuclear technology). This is evidenced in the recent rise in the price of oil near USD 100 per barrel. As fuel and energy prices continue to rise, there will be increasing economic pressure to improve the efficiency of power generation (and other processes) and reduce fuel consumption. There is also increasing general awareness and concern about the impending effects of global warming and climate change, which is leading to increased social and political motivation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recovering energy from low grade heat sources such as the heat wasted by conventional engines or industrial processes will clearly reduce fuel consumption and therefore also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, there is increasing economic, social and political pressure to improve power generation efficiency and reduce fuel consumption - and these factors increasingly justify the development of heat engines suited to low grade heat
sources, such as the Amps family of patents.
The Amps family of patents owned by International Innovations Limited (IIL) represents a significant opportunity to enter the low grade heat recovery market. It represents an
opportunity to develop products that will not only contribute to reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, but also the opportunity to benefit from the economic, social and political factors that are beginning to drive this market.
MOREAMPS™ Downloads
| Title: |
Development Proposal for Moreamps Heat Engine |
| Summary: |
A document outlining the technology, potential applications and a development proposal for the Amps family of heat engine technologies prepared by Nicholas Ward. |
| Format: |
Adobe Acrobat |
| Size: |
171Kb |
| Title: |
Moreamps diagram |
| Summary: |
A diagram of the MOREAMPS™ design |
| Format: |
Adobe Acrobat |
| Size: |
370Kb |
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