| dc.description.abstract | The Marnoch Heat Engine (MHE) is a recently patented type of new heat engine that
produces electricity from lower temperature heat sources. The MHE utilizes lower
temperature differences to generate electricity than any currently available
conventional technologies. Heat can be recovered from a variety of sources to
generate electricity, i.e., waste heat from thermal power plants, geothermal, or solar
energy. This thesis examines the performance of an MHE demonstration unit, which
uses air and a pneumatic piston assembly to convert mechanical flow work from
pressure differences to electricity. This thesis finds that heat exchangers and the
piston assembly do not need to be co-located, which allows benefits of positioning the
heat exchangers in various configurations. This thesis presents a laboratory-scale,
proof-of-concept device, which has been built and tested at the University of Ontario
Institute of Technology, Canada. It also presents a thermodynamic analysis of the
current system. Based on the MHE results, component modifications are made to
improve the thermal performance and efficiency. The current configuration has an
efficiency of about thirty percent of the maximum efficiency of a Carnot heat engine
operating in the temperature range of 0oC to 100oC. The analysis and experimental
studies allow future scale-up of the MHE into a pre-commercial facility for larger
scale production of electricity from waste heat. | en |
