CHP stands for Combined Heat and Pressure as a new type of engine. The CHP engine is not internal combustion. It is not electric. It is a unique engine designed specifically to maximize the conversion of fuel energy into physical motion. Why fuel? Because the energy density of fuel far exceeds that of electrical batteries, giving more range, power, and rapid re-fuelling. Further, the infrastructure and investment in fuel already exists so CHP engine adoption is rapid and economical.
The most serious issue with fuel has been an inefficient internal combustion engine which was not designed to optimize the combustion, and power, of fuel.
What is the key difference between CHP and Internal Combustion engine design? In order to efficiently and cleanly combust fuel, an optimal ratio of fuel to air must be maintained. That ratio is called the stoichiometric ratio, and for gasoline it is 14.7 parts of air to 1 part fuel. The problem with internal combustion is that the volume of fuel constantly changes with the throttle, but the volume of air (the engine displacement) remains unchanged. As such the stoichiometric ratio inherently cannot be maintained as the rotational speed of the engine changes, which causes harmful emissions.
The CHP solution is an engine which can maintain the stoichiometric ratio of combustion at any engine speed, load, or temperature, with any fuel because it can provide the fuel combustion event with an unlimited volume of air, without turbocharging or supercharging. Emissions with petroleum based fuels are reduced to near-zero. Today, no other engine in production can make this claim.
Internal combustion engines (ICE) ignite fuel to create pressure in a cylinder, to push a piston that rotates a crankshaft, and transfers that rotational motion to a vehicle's wheels.
Over the last century, engine design concentrated on the power of pressure, now managed with sophisticated computers and expensive materials. The USA Department of Energy notes however that only 30% of fuel energy generally converts to pressure, while 70% of the energy converts to heat. That heat is wasted fuel energy when when it is discharged through the radiator and exhaust.
CHP ENGINES MAXIMIZE ENERGY SECURITY
The first generation of CHP is defined as power “co-generation”, designated “Combined Heat and Power”, or “CHP”. It refers to the pressure in an engine, and combustion heat to separately co-generate power for separate machines. For example, a stationary diesel engine can power an electrical generator, while the exhaust is used with heat exchangers to warm a building. Heat is not used to improve engine efficiency. Pressure is not used to improve heat efficiency. This basic configuration can also be referred to as CHP1.
CHP engine powered electrical plants can reach an overall efficiency of up to 90 percent, which far exceeds conventional power plants with overall efficiencies of 35 to 40 percent. With Combined Heat and Pressure engine design, as well as secondary heat scavenging, the highest possible conversion of fuel to work is achieved.
The second generation of CHP is designated “Combined Heat and Pressure”, or CHP2 because it combines both heat and pressure within an engine. This ensures that the full power of fuel is applied in order to optimize engine power. This cannot be done within an internal combustion engine, but instead required a new CHP engine configured specifically for CHP2. Worth noting, second generation CHP can also use residual heat in a CHP1 configuration.
The CHP engine is similar to a conventional engine which has cylinders that are pressurized to push a piston and rotate a crankshaft, then transferring that rotational motion to a vehicle's wheels. The key difference is that the CHP engine creates pressure from fuel combustion outside of the cylinder. This feature allows the CHP engine to develop over 1,000 ft/lbs of torque from a 2.0 litre displacement, with a torque curve similar to electric motors. Dimensionally 1/3 the size and weight of an ICE with equivalent power, the CHP engine typically uses less than half the components and is near silent when operating.
Motor vehicle gasoline engines typically achieve 30% efficiency, and diesels achieve 40%. CHP engine powered vehicles are designed to achieve 80-90% fuel utilization efficiency.
The expected service life of a CHP engine is generally between 500,000 and 1,000,000 miles. The CHP engine can be manufactured from environmentally benign, recycled materials. CHP engines can run on any liquid or gaseous fuel, generating near-zero emissions, as well as zero-emissions hydrogen, and seamlessly switch between those fuels while operating.
The CHP engine is intended to replace any conventional engine in any use, whether it be mobile or stationary.