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A West Bank mechanic has harnessed the power of air with his invention of a new, greener motor engine that operates by air compression, without the need for fuel.

Imad Saleh Hassouneh, 37, who maintained truck engines for 22 years, said: “My invention was purely accidental. A truck moved forward when I was repairing its engine using compressed air. I realised that compressed air has the power to propel the engine so I started experimenting with a truck engine.”

Imad, a refugee from Jalazone in the West Bank, added: “I succeeded in inventing an engine that operates on air compression rather than fuel, and obtained a patent from the Palestinian Ministry of Economics. I also received support from Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Salam Fayyad who honoured me and granted me a car to experiment on.”

To test his invention, Imad mounted the engine over a model of a four-tonne truck and added the air compressor. After allowing the air stream to flow through a pipe attached to the engine, he started the engine. The truck moved slowly in comparison to the fuel engine as the amount of compressed air was not enough.

Despite facing difficulties, including a lack of resources and equipment, and the absence of a sponsor for the project, Imad succeeded with his invention.

He said: “If this invention is applied, developed and manufactured on an international scale, it will become a great discovery because it is an environmentally friendly engine with minimal cost.

“Moreover, it has zero impact on health, unlike with fuel. Other benefits include the end of the car overheating problem during summer, as it will in fact operate as an engine coolant.”

viking-warrior wrote:someone thought this was news

viking-warrior wrote:then someone granted him a patent

Here's some nifty bullet points for you.

• The Air Car runs a specially developed piston engine that uses a new thermo dynamic cycle offering exceptional energy efficiency.

• Compressed air is stored in carbon fibre tanks, at 300 bar (4,351 psi).

• The CAT engine operates on four cycles: intake and compression, combustion, expansion, and exhaust.

• Outside air is drawn into the compression chamber and compressed to 20 bar (290 psi). At the highest point of pressure (at ‘top dead centre’), this air reaches 400°C (centigrade), and, at that point, air from the storage tank is injected into the combustion chamber.

• Since the injected air is much colder than the compressed air in the chamber, the injected air is heated instantaneously, causing a sudden expansion, which pushes the piston down (in an expansion stroke)

• The air tanks fitted to the underside of the vehicle can hold 300 litres of compressed air, capable of driving the MiniCAT for up to 200km.

• Using a household electrical source, it takes about 4 hours for the vehicle to refill its own compressed air tanks (a rapid three minute recharge is possible using an external high-pressure air pump.

• The MiniCAT runs an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (CVT)

sage & onion wrote:It will of course get so much better if we cover it in black and attempt an illegal exit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!