This article compares motors, primarily on their efficiency and usability in a given location.
Comparison of the engine types
| Type | Efficiency | Fabrication requirements | Difficulty of production | Durability | Difficulty of repair | Production cost | ||
| Engines using a heated/compressed liquid (ie water) | ||||||||
| Piston steam engine | 15%? | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Steam turbine (bladed rotor) | 35%[1][2] | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Steam turbine (Tesla) | 40% | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Fuel cell | ? | ? | ? | ?? | ? | ? | ||
| Engines using a heated/compressed gas (ie air, ...) | ||||||||
| Compressed air engine | 26% | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Stirling engine | upto 40% | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Engines using a deflagrative liquid/gas (ie gasoline, hydrogen, ...) | ||||||||
| Internal combustion engine (Otto) | 30% | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Internal combustion engine (Diesel) | 35-50%[3] | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Fuel-powered turbine | 70-80%[4]Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag |
? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
| Engines using electricity | ||||||||
| Electric engine (Switched reluctance motor) | 70% | ? | ? | ?? | ? | |||
The appropriate use of the different engines
A lot of inefficient (fuel-burning) engines generally have very little efficiency and lose most energy in the form of heat. Ie internal combustion (IC) engines lose 70% of their energy in the form of heat, which makes them insuitable for tasks such as transport, ... In applications where this generated heat can be reused (ie for space heating), the 70% inefficiency can be recovered. [5][6]This means that these engines are most suitable as a combined heat and power system, ie for use in greenhouses, ... The same is true with a multitude of different engines (see above).
IC engines
Internal combustion engines can be fed using various fuels; ie diesel and petrol but also biofuels and wood gas. Fuels alternative from diesel and petrol reduce the efficieny of the system since energy is lost in the fuel production. For example, with wood gas, we find that we lose 25% efficiency (production is 75% efficient).
Thus, if ie IC-engines were to be used for inappropriate tasks as transport, the system will attain a efficiency of 3/4_X_30%= 22,5%. The production of the other fuels (ie pure plant oil, produced from waste vegetable oil) may be even less efficient. From an ecologic and a appropriate standpoint, these supplemental losses are irrelevant, and the system used for these inappropriate tasks will still be much more ecologic than by using diesel/petrol for the same tasks, simply because plants are already in the ecosystem where fossil oils are not. However, appropriately seen, we can never justify their use for inappropriate uses as transport, even if it is already better than their same use using fossil fuels.
See also
References
- ↑ Steam turbine efficiency between 10-40%, efficiency calculated between fuel and energy produced by turbine (so including efficiency losses trough extra conversion of heat to steam)
- ↑ When the efficiency is calculated between the energy in the steam and the turbine, it's a lot higher, upto some 70-80%
- ↑ Efficiency range depends on compression ratio, large low-speed diesel engines typically having a higher compression ratio, and thus a efficiency closer to 50%
- ↑ Gas turbine efficiency
- ↑ http://www.gizmag.com/go/4936/ , http://www.cleanpowertechnologies.com/ , and http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/27/alternativeenergy.energy : solution to reclaim energy from waste heat by means of liquid matter cooling; original design not efficient though (steam engine=15% efficient, stirling upto 40%)
- ↑ Marine IC engine liquid matter cooling with stirling engine