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A key technology developed by SIRIUS ENERGY addresses what has become known as the "fifth fuel" - the means of recovering heat energy that is lost as a byproduct of the combustion engines, turbines, furnaces, powHer plants etc..

 
The International Energy Agency has estimated that the transport industry will account for 97 percent of the increase in primary oil use between 2007 and 2030.


The process of recovering energy from waste heat already has been adopted in modern power generation plants to achieve a higher level of efficiency.


Developing portable heat exchangers for the transport industry is critical given the expected growth in the number of vehicles combined with declining oil reserves in the coming decades. Less than 30 percent of the energy contained in a gallon of gasoline actually reaches the wheels of a typical car - most of the remaining energy is lost as heat. Since most of the energy consumed by the internal combustion engine is wasted, recapturing much of that lost energy will increase efficiency.


SIRIUS ENERGY has successfully addressed this challenge and developed the world most efficient heat exchanger. Its compact design, reliability and incomparable efficiency effectively decreases the consumption of fuel in vehicles by as much as 65 percent.


Our new technology has overcome the constraints of earlier systems:
"The efficiency of our system is very high, as much as 95 percent"
"It is so small that it easily fits inside the trunk of a car or beneath the back seat."


The heat exchanger is made of at least one multi-channel manifold having two flow channels or four more inlets outlets, the flow channels contain multiple passageways formed by corrugated metallic sheets interposed between regular metal sheet which two or more fluids may pass to transfer or collect heat


Our heat exchanger differs from others because of the balance between the length of the channels and its overall compactness as well as the durability of the design. The length of the channels combined with the larger-than-normal surface area of the metal sheets – created by special electro-chemical treatment – means that the exchange fluids have an extended contact period with the sheets which greatly boosts efficiency. The surface area of the metallic sheets can be custom-treated to increase or decrease their texture and corrugating qualities which impact on the turbulence factor of the flow thus improving contact with the wall.


The heat exchanger’s unique design and the high-melting point and anti-corrosion characteristics of the metals used gives it a very high mechanical strength, allowing it to tolerate plus and minus acceleration, extended vibration and radically variant temperature ranges without cracking.


The design also allows for custom built versions – incorporating for example spiral, rectangular or cylindrical shapes suited to a wide range of applications.


An automated production process will guarantee high quality and low costs. The process begins with rolls of metal alloy being fed into a machine that cuts it to size as sheets. The surfaces of the sheets are electro-chemically treated to increase the surface area before being sent to the next machine for corrugating. The separately processed sheets are then fitted together before being coated in an insulating material. Once the sheets have been folded, they are spot welded into place and then fitted inside the rugged jacket with at least two inlets and outlets.


One of a major application of the heat exchanger is on the transportation industry where it should have the greatest impact. In a typical car of less than 300 Horsepower the heat exchanger will directly fit between the engine and the catalytic converter to collect wasted heat from the combustion engine and return it to effectively decreases the consumption of fuel in vehicles by as much as 65 percent


Essentially, the efficiency of any heat engine can be expressed as 1-(T_rej/T_add) where T_rej and T_add are the mean temperatures of heat rejection and addition. Charge air heating effectively increases the mean temperature of heat addition of the working fluid and is employed very effectively in gas turbines in the form of regenerative heating.


In the case of the automobiles over 300 Horsepower the existing turbocharger may be applied to increase the air density and maintain high power. It will compress the ambient cold air and force it into the heat exchanger. Afterward the exchanged heat will enter the combustion chamber at a higher atmospheric pressure to compensate the air density. Simultaneously the wasted heat coming out from the combustion engine will go to the catalytic converter and afterward to the heat exchanger where heat will be exchanged with the cold air that came from the turbo charger and is delivered back to the combustion engine to achieve the 65% efficiency.


Since less fuel is injected into the combustion chamber, air to fuel ratio and T_rej and T_add remain constant.


Another advantage of the heat exchanger is the vacuum effect created by the cooling the exhaust gas where its density increases leading to air contraction which helps expel the exhaust and increase the mechanical efficiency of the engine.


It should be noted that there are different types of gasoline engines, where each type of engines needs a special configuration and calibration when mounted with a heat exchanger to practically confirm the heat exchanger effects and advantages.


"SIRIUS ENERGY's revolutionary heat exchanger promises to have a significant and beneficial impact on energy resource preservation as well as reducing the transport industry's carbon footprint. The heat exchanger is designed to be a complete micro-scale recovery plant available to the transport industry, providing a firm foundation upon which an entire system of energy efficiency can be built."

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