MiniC.A.T air powered car

[Dr Mordrid]

Business Week article....

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Many respected engineers have been trying for years to bring a compressed air car to market, believing strongly that compressed air can power a viable "zero pollution" car. Now the first commercial compressed air car is on the verge of production and beginning to attract a lot of attention, and with a recently signed partnership with Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, the prospects of very cost-effective mass production are now a distinct possibility. The MiniC.A.T is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass. The heart of the electronic and communication system on the car is a computer offering an array of information reports that extends well beyond the speed of the vehicle, and is built to integrate with external systems and almost anything you could dream of, starting with voice recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, and of course every form of digital entertainment. The engine is fascinating, as is and the revolutionary electrical system that uses just one cable and so is the vehicle's wireless control system. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc

There are no keys – just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket.

Most importantly, it is incredibly cost-efficient to run – according to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph.

Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately 1.5 Euros, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometres.

As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours.

Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000 Km.

The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0 - 15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.

How does it work?

90m3 of compressed air is stored in fibre tanks. The expansion of this air pushes the pistons and creates movement. The atmospheric temperature is used to re-heat the engine and increase the road coverage. The air conditioning system makes use of the expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion and the fact there is no pollution, the oil change is only necessary every 31.000 miles.

At the moment, four models have been made: a car, a taxi (5 passengers), a Pick-Up truck and a van. The final selling price will be approximately 5.500 pounds.
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[Brian Ellis]

Business week has never heard of the laws of thermodynamics. Compressing air is a very energy-inefficient process because it cannot be done isothermally. Much of the energy is lost by the heating during the adiabatic compression (the same as pumping bicycle tyres with a hand pump). The adiabatic expansion is the opposite effect and is why the exhaust air is cold.

And where does the energy come from? From the very inefficient coal-fired power stations in India, of course. The fuel-to-wheels efficiency would be far less than if a tiny petrol engine were fitted for such a light car. Recently, an Indian Minister announced that he estimated there were 6 million deaths/year due to air pollution in the country, partly due to road traffic, but also largely due to the power stations spewing all sorts of crap into the air (most power plants have no effluent control on their smokestacks). So this would INCREASE pollution if it were to become mainstream.

I wonder what proportion of the air is used to drive the sophisticated electrics/electronics. Will the car slow down if you switch on the headlights, windscreen wipers and, of course, "voice recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, and of course every form of digital entertainment".

Excuse me for being sceptical, but I've seen this kind of miracle BS before.

[Technoid]

Business week has never heard of the laws of thermodynamics. Compressing air is a very energy-inefficient process because it cannot be done isothermally. Much of the energy is lost by the heating during the adiabatic compression (the same as pumping bicycle tyres with a hand pump). The adiabatic expansion is the opposite effect and is why the exhaust air is cold.

They haven't heard about anything, they just print what they are payed to print

And where does the energy come from? From the very inefficient coal-fired power stations in India, of course. The fuel-to-wheels efficiency would be far less than if a tiny petrol engine were fitted for such a light car. Recently, an Indian Minister announced that he estimated there were 6 million deaths/year due to air pollution in the country, partly due to road traffic, but also largely due to the power stations spewing all sorts of crap into the air (most power plants have no effluent control on their smokestacks). So this would INCREASE pollution if it were to become mainstream.

Not to mention the amount of radiation coal-fired power plants emit

IMHO, it would make the total amount of crap poured out in the atmosphere go down and it is much easier to put filters on a few powerplants than thousands and thousands of cars

I wonder what proportion of the air is used to drive the sophisticated electrics/electronics. Will the car slow down if you switch on the headlights, windscreen wipers and, of course, "voice recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, and of course every form of digital entertainment".

Excuse me for being sceptical, but I've seen this kind of miracle BS before.

I'd guess they'd use a normal generator and a 12v battery as in any normal car

[Brian Ellis]

IMHO, it would make the total amount of crap poured out in the atmosphere go down and it is much easier to put filters on a few powerplants than thousands and thousands of cars

But a LOT more expensive for the collectivity. To convert just one existing power station with electrostatic precipitators and scrubbers, with ancillary equipment, would cost the owners (the government, the people) nearly $100M. And they have 89 coal-fired power stations with a capacity of 100 MW or more (a few privately-owned). Reflect on

Household Access to Electricity in India (%)
Total access 45.7
Rural access 33.1
Urban access 81.5
Rural population as % of total population 74.0
Urban population as % of total population 26.0
Source: United States Energy Information Administration, World Bank.

and tell me why less than half the population have electricity but all the population suffer from its pollution. Even those that do have it suffer blackouts/brownouts for 15% of the time.

OTOH, if all cars had filters fitted, it would cost the collectivity nothing, only the 6 million-odd owners (population >1 billion) would have to foot the bill and would provide a boost to the economy.

[Technoid]

But a LOT more expensive for the collectivity. To convert just one existing power station with electrostatic precipitators and scrubbers, with ancillary equipment, would cost the owners (the government, the people) nearly $100M. And they have 89 coal-fired power stations with a capacity of 100 MW or more (a few privately-owned). Reflect on

and tell me why less than half the population have electricity but all the population suffer from its pollution. Even those that do have it suffer blackouts/brownouts for 15% of the time.

OTOH, if all cars had filters fitted, it would cost the collectivity nothing, only the 6 million-odd owners (population >1 billion) would have to foot the bill and would provide a boost to the economy.

I didn't say it was cheaper, I said it was easier

And IMHO those plants should be fixed anyway...

[Brian Ellis]

I don't know whether you have been to India, but I would say, from personal experience over several visits to a number of cities and rural areas there, that there are many more priorities over fixing their power stations. So many, in fact, that I wouldn't know where to start. There is one point that this car has in its favour: it would not add filthy unsulfurised diesel fumes which make life unbearable in the cities. If every vehicle there were to have an emissions test (plus a safety test) every year, that would be a great step in the right direction.

I recall, on one occasion in New Delhi, I woke up just as dawn was breaking. I went to the window of my room on the 8th floor and was appalled (pun intended) by what I saw or, rather, what I didn't see. I didn't see the ground for a thick brown layer of pollutants. The only thing I was able to see was the sun rising and the tops of a few trees. This was about 10 metres thick. After a shower, I went down to the ground floor for brekker, and had the temerity to poke my nose outside. It smelt of sulfurous fumes and my eyes started streaming. I quickly beat a hasty retreat back into the air-conditioned hotel. By the time I finished breakfast, the increased traffic had started to stir the pollution round a bit, so that it reached the level of my window and the sun had diappeared in the pall. This is not exceptional. A trip from Bangalore to Mysore in an air-conditioned people carrier left me with my eyes red and bloodshot and my lungs working at half-capacity and that was in the countryside. A night trip from Dehra Dun to Delhi likewise: in addition it was hair-raising, as few vehicles had lights: it was a nightmare. As for Mumbai, it is indescriptible.

I've heard that Beijing is supposed to be the most polluted city in the world, but I never found it to be so bad as many Indian cities: maybe I was lucky in that the wind was blowing in the right direction on the occasions when I was there, but there is never a wind in the right direction in India.