Rarinn's Ideas

I recently calculated that current lithium production, if shared equally among all humans, would be just enough to produce around 0.3 kWh of LiFePO4 batteries per year (they even don't require cobalt). I would like a car that can drive for 3 hours at maximum speed, and then be quickly refueled. Small car requiring 22 kW of power during that scenario would require 66 kWh of batteries, which would weight approximately 500 kg. Pure hydrogen storage is bulky and extremely dangerous, that is why using ammonia as its carrier seems to be best option (it is the hydrogen carrier with highest volumetric density, that is easily stored as slightly pressurized liquid). If maximum payload of a car is 500 kg, and then I add 500 kg of batteries, then I need many components of a car to be twice as strong and powerful.

Description of this engine is mostly outdated. Newer version can be seen here . My previous posts assumed that two-stroke construction based on Lenoir cycle will be used. Charge would be admitted at higher pressure, and admission would take place only at the beginning of downward stroke, then fuel-oxidizer mixture would be ignited by multiple spark gaps, and power extraction would begin. Various combinations of ammonia, hydrogen, air, and oxygen could be used. After researching multiple options, I came to the conclusion, that burning NH3 with air is the best bet for a land vehicle that is expected to have reasonable range. Separating O2 from air (or H2 from NH3) would require bulky counterflow heat exchangers, that would accumulate H2O and CO2 on their surfaces. I was thinking about marketing it as negative-emissions vehicle, but it probably would be a bad idea, nevertheless it could be possible to have heat exchangers connected in parallel, so when one of them clogs, another one ...