GB2464488A

GB2464488A - Using otherwise wasted thermal energy from engines

Info

Publication number: GB2464488A
Application number: GB0818951A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan Lee Stacey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-10-16
Filing date: 2008-10-16
Publication date: 2010-04-21
Also published as: GB0818951D0

Abstract

Engines can never be 100% efficient and some waste thermal energy is always produced that needs to be removed from the engine and is currently dumped into the Earth's biosphere. This invention relates to systems for capturing, storing, transporting and utilising the unused thermal energy produced in engines. For example, having cooled a ship's engine, fig.1, the liquid coolant, eg sea water, may be stored in insulated tanks 7 for removal and transfer for sale or use. The cooling liquid may be taken from on-board tank(s) (11,16, figs.2,3). A road or rail transport vehicle, fig.4, may have a storage tank 11 filled initially with cool liquid 13 which passes through the engine 5 and is stored as hot liquid 14 in an insulated tank 7. Alternatively, cool liquid may be taken from and returned as hot liquid to a single tank (16, fig.5). An i.c. engine/electric hybrid vehicle may be connected, when stationary, to a storage tank (16,fig.6) which receives hot fluid from the engine. Electricity generated in the vehicle is stored in batteries (36) and/or transferred to a remote location via wires (41). Instead of large power station(s), each house (52,fig.8) may have a parked car (53) which forms part of a combined heat and power (CHP) system or a tri-generation system for a number of houses.

Description

Thermal energy from engines.

Description

This invention relates to a method to enable the energy resources consumed for human activities to be used more efficiently by capturing, storing, transporting and utilising the unused thermal energy produced in engines. The invention also relates to a method for using the engines of hybrid electric vehicles as part of combined heat and power or tn generation system.

Human activity relies on finite energy sources such as coal, oil and gas which are becoming increasingly expensive resources and which will eventually effectively run out.

The use of these resources is thought to be affecting the Earth, for example by increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. This invention reduces the total energy requirements of human activity, and therefore allows the rate of consumption of these resources to be reduced and any effects on the Earth to be reduced or delayed.

Mechanical engines such as internal combustion engines convert the chemical energy in fuel such as diesel firstly into thermal energy (heat) and then into kinetic energy (motion).

The conversion of chemical energy into thermal energy usually occurs by combustion of the fuel in a process known as oxidation. Oxidation involves breaking and reforming of molecular chemical bonds, for example carbon atoms in a fuel combining with oxygen molecules in the air to form carbon dioxide in an exothermic reaction (i.e. with a net release of heat energy). In an engine, this heat causes a fluid (usually a gas) to expand, this expansion producing forces on the surfaces of one or more engine components such as a piston or a turbine blade. These components are able to move and are usually connected in some way to a rotating shaft which can be connected to other devices or systems to do useful work such as turn the propeller of a ship, turn the wheel of a road vehicle or turn the rotor of an electrical generator.

It has already been stated that during fuel combustion the chemical energy in the fuel is converted into thermal energy and this thermal energy is then converted to kinetic energy.

It is relevant to this invention that engines do not convert all of the thermal energy of combustion into kinetic energy, some residual thermal energy, approximately 30 to 70 percent of it, is left behind in the engine. In addition, some thermal energy is retained by the products of combustion and leaves the engine by the exhaust gas removal system.

The proportion of residual thermal energy that remains in the engine together with the proportion of thermal energy that is carried away by exhaust gases contribute to determining the efficiency of that engine. The efficiency of an engine depends on many 1 0 factors. Fundamental Laws of Thermodynamics determine that it is not theoretically possible to have an engine that is 100% efficient i.e. no engine can ever convert all the chemical energy in fuel into useful mechanical work. This means that although improvements in the efficiency of engines can be achieved, for example through improved engine design, engines will always produce some thermal energy that cannot be I 5 converted into kinetic energy in that engine.

In order for engines to operate efficiently without undue wear or damage, the temperature of the engine must be controlled within a certain range, this range being approximately 50 to 100 degrees Celsius. In order to prevent the temperature of an engine increasing above the upper limit of this range, this residual thermal energy must be removed at approximately the same rate as it is produced. If the residual thermal energy is removed at a rate greater than the rate that it is produced then the engine will cool down. If the residual thermal energy is removed at a rate less than the rate that it is produced then the engine will heat up. It will be appreciated that when an engine is not in use it will cool down to the ambient temperature of its surroundings, and when it starts to operate following an inactive period it will take some time, usually several minutes, for the engine to warm up to the operating temperature range. The engine warms up because of the residual thermal energy. It is usually only during this warming up period that thermal energy does not need to be removed from the engine. This warming up period is usually small compared with the operating time of the engine. It is relevant to this invention that for the majority of the time that an engine is operating, the residual thermal energy must be removed. It wilt be appreciated that some engines will be required to operate for short time periods where the warming up period is long compared to the operating time and this is accounted for in this invention.

Devices or systems can be fitted to, or can be integral with, engines, these being cooling systems designed to remove this thermal energy at the required rate to maintain the engine's temperature within the desired operating temperature range. Devices or systems can also be fitted to or be integral with the exhaust systems of engines, these being heat exchanging systems designed to transfer the thermal energy of the hot exhaust gases to a cooler medium.

A simple example will now be given of a small road transport vehicle that uses a diesel fuelled internal combustion 4 stroke piston engine, where the engine has an efficiency of 50% and fuel is used up at a rate such that the rate of chemical energy entering the engine is 100kW. This engine develops 50 kW of mechanical power which is used to propel the vehicle, while 50kW of residual thermal energy must be removed to prevent the temperature of the engine increasing out of the required operating range. Another example will now be given of a large water transport vessel, where the engine has an efficiency of 50% and fuel is used up at a rate such that the rate of chemical energy entering the engine is 2MW. This engine develops 1MW of mechanical power which is used to propel the vessel, while 1MW of residual thermal energy must be removed to prevent the temperature of the engine increasing out of the required operating range. The purpose of these simple examples is to illustrate that the amount of thermal energy that must be removed from such engines is significant. In order to illustrate how significant the quantity of energy is, even from a small road transport vehicle such as a family car (automobile), the quantities of energy will now be discussed.

When the residual thermal energy is removed from an engine at a rate of 50kW, this means that it is removed at a rate of 5.0 x Joules per second. If this engine operates for 1 hour (3600 seconds) then the total amount of thermal energy removed from the engine is 1.8 x l0 J (5.0 x 10 x 3.6 x 1O3 = 1.8 x 108), In the United Kingdom, the average domestic household has an energy requirement of approximately 2.0 x I 8 Joules per day. This example illustrates that the thermal energy removed from the engine of even a small road vehicle running for just 1 hour would be sufficient to meet the energy requirements of a typical family home in the UK for I day. According to the article at http://www.dancewithshadows.com/society/uk-commuter.asp (Online, accessed 30 April 2008) in the UK there are approximately 25 million commuters with an average commute time of 58 minutes for 161 days per year. If we assume that there are 20 million households in the UK, then as a rough estimate, the waste thermal energy from these commuting journeys alone would meet the demands of approximately half of all the households in the UK. The calculation for the total energy demand of all households in the UK for 1 year is given by energy required per household per day * number of households * number of days 2.Ox I08*2.Ox 106*365= 1.46x 1018J The calculation for the energy that is currently removed from engines of commuting road vehicles alone in the UK for one year is given by energy removed per engine per second * (number of seconds engine operates per day) * number of engines * number of days = 5.Ox 104* (60 * 58) * 2.5 x 107* 161 7.0 x 10'7J This means that if the waste thermal energy could be harnessed from these commuting vehicles alone, we would harness 100 * 7.0 x l0'/ 1.46 x 1018 48% of the total energy requirements of all the households in the UK. The values used here are only approximate to give a simple example of the order of magnitude of the quantities of energy involved.

We shall not consider it here but if we considered the different engine sizes of road vehicles and included all the vehicles in use at all times of the day then we would arrive at different values. It will be appreciated however that the waste thermal energy from internal combustion engines of road vehicles is significant.

According to the website URL http://containerinfo.co.ohost.de/misc_publ_1 l000teu.pdf [Online, accessed 9 Sept 2008] there is a proposal for a container ship with a single engine of 74 MW to carry 11'lOO twenty foot equivalent units (TEU). Assuming that S this is a typical ship it is possible to estimate that on average the power required for each TEU is (74 x 106)! 11' 100 = 6667 Watts per TEU. It will be appreciated that this is not necessarily true depending on ship size, expected mass of payloads and engine design but it is at least an estimate. According to the AXS-Alphaliner website at URL http://www I.axsrnarine.com/pu bI ic/publ icTOP I 00.php [Online, accessed 9 Sept 2008], globally there are 6,065 ships active on liner trades, for 12,725,201 TEU. This allows an estimate to be calculated for the total engine power in use for all shipping. If an average ship has 6667 W/TEU and there are 12,725,201 TEU being shipped then this gives an estimate for the total engine power in use across the world for shipping when 6667 W/TEU is multiplied by 12,725,201 TEU this gives 8.5 x 1010 Watts. This means that if we added up all ship engines there is approximately 85 GW of engine power used in shipping. If we assume that these engines are in constant use and that the engines are 50% efficient we can estimate how much waste thermal energy is being dumped into the sea water each day due to cooling of these engines.

8.5 x lOb Watts at 50 % efficiency means that 4.25 x 1010 Joules of energy is being dumped into the sea every second. Over a day this is 4.25 x 1010 Joules per second multiplied by 24 hours per day multiplied by 60 minutes per hour multiplied by 60 seconds per minute 4.25 x 1010 x 24 x 60 x 60 = 3.7 x 1015 joules per day.

There are 3.6 x 106 Joules in one kilo Watt hour (kWhr). This means that there are 3.7 x lO' /3.6 x 106 = 1.0 x l0 kWhr of thermal energy removed from shipping engines and dumped into the sea every day. At the same time that this waste heat is being removed from these ships' engines, elsewhere water is being heated up. If we assume that this heating is being done at a cost of �0.10 per kWhr (USD$0.20 per kWhr) then the potential value of this waste heat is given by 1.0 x i09 kWhr multiplied by �0.10 per kWhr (or USD$0.20 per kWhr) = �1.0 x 108 or �100 million (USDS200M). This is the potential value of the thermal energy that is being dumped into the sea every day by shipping engines alone. Thus, as an estimate, each year shipping dumps approximately thirty six thousand million GB pounds (36500M) [or seventy two thousand million US dollars (USD$72000M)J worth of thermal energy into the sea. This cost is inevitably passed on to customers and end users, simply because no effort is made to harness this thermal energy and reuse it. If this energy was harnessed and reused then this would significantly reduce the energy requirements of human activity.

It will be appreciated that this is an estimate only and many factors are not accounted for 1 0 which will prevent the total potential value from being realised. The true figure may be 10% or 1% of that calculated here for various reasons, for example heat loss during storage, however it is still a significant amount of energy and a significant amount of value that is currently being wasted.

It will also be appreciated that similar calculations can be carried out for road and rail transport, which would also produce estimates illustrating that significant amounts of energy with significant potential value is being dumped into the Earth's biosphere.

It will be appreciated that the energy requirements of a nation such as the UK could not be met immediately simply by harnessing and using thermal energy from a engines since other forms of energy other than thermal energy are required such as electrical energy to power electrical equipment and lighting. However, the example illustrates that a significant proportion of the energy requirements of buildings could be met by harnessing and using the thermal energy of an engine. The above examples only considered road and shipping engines. This invention relates to engines that are used for any purpose including but not limited to road, rail and water transport.

The cooling systems of engines usually remove the thermal energy and transfer it to a heat sink. Inevitably, the thermal energy that is removed from the engine by the cooling system is eventually transferred to the Earth's biosphere, the biosphere being the Earth's crust, atmosphere, rivers or seas. Eventually, this thermal energy may be radiated away into space.

Examples of how this thermal energy is transferred to the biosphere will now be given.

The cooling systems of road or train transport vehicles usually transfer the residual thermal energy to the surrounding air by heat exchange devices usually known as radiators. Radiators are connected to a cooling system comprising a fluid, fluid carrying tubes that are in good thermal contact with the required parts of the engine and a pump that moves the fluid around the cooling system. Cool air is forced through the radiator either by an air moving device or by the relative motion of the vehicle through the air. It will be appreciated that some engines are air cooled and thermal energy is transferred directly to surrounding air by surfaces which are designed to have large surface areas to efficiently conduct and radiate thermal energy away from the engine.

IS

The cooling systems of water transport vessels such as ships usually transfer the residual thermal energy to the water in which it is floating and this can occur for example by taking in and filtering sea water, pumping it through tubes that are in good thermal contact with the required parts of the engine, and then pumping this warmer water back out into the sea after heat transfer has occurred.

The cooling system of an electric producing power station can use a combination of similar methods as used by road, train and water vessels to remove the residual thermal energy from the engine.

Although invisible to the human eye and possessing no chemical form or physical mass, this thermal energy is a pollutant and modifies the medium into which it is transferred by increasing its temperature. Increasing a medium's temperature can change its chemical and physical properties. One example of this is that increasing the temperature of sea water causes it to expand and this causes sea levels to rise. It will be appreciated that this is not to suggest that direct heating of sea water by engines is the only mechanism that causes sea levels to rise, but is an easy to understand example.

The heat transferred to the Earth's biosphere by each individual engine is relatively small considering the size of the Earth's biosphere, and so the impact of this heat pollution from each individual engine is so small by comparison, that it may be considered to be practically insignificant and may be immeasurable. However, several other factors are relevant to heat pollution from engines, and some of these will now be described. The number of engines in use is increasing as the number of human activities requiring engines is increasing, for example more ships, more road vehicles, more electric power stations. The size (power = rate of heat output) of engines is increasing while the efficiency is not significantly increasing, for example ships can now be fitted with engines in excess of 1 MW, and there are many thousands of such ships in use almost constantly while the efficiency of engines has not significantly increased. Also, it is 1 5 estimated that in China, several electrical power stations consuming Giga Watts of fuel energy are being commissioned every week. En addition to heat pollution, other pollutants are being introduced into the Earth's biosphere such as carbon dioxide gas, which together with solar radiation is thought to have the effect of increasing the temperature of the Earth's biosphere. The Earth's biosphere is a non-linear system, meaning that it can respond unpredictably to even small changes that are introduced such as pollution. Considering these issues, it is the purpose of this invention to reduce the total energy requirements for human activity and reduce the pollution from engines.

At the same time as residual thermal energy is being removed from one engine and transferred into the biosphere, elsewhere more chemical energy in the form of some other fuel is being converted to thermal energy for another purpose. These purposes include for example heating up water to circulate through the heating system of a building, refrigerating air inside a building or heating water prior to entering the steam turbines of an electrical power station.

Combusting chemical fuel at one location in order to produce thermal energy, while at another location and time (or at the same location at a different time) waste thermal energy is being removed from an engine and dumped into the biosphere, is clearly wasteful. This results in more fuel being consumed than was necessary and more pollution than was necessary.

An advantage that this invention gives is that less energy will be required by the world, by a nation, by a household. Another example is that raw energy demand will reduce including coal, oil, gas, which will extend the reserves of these finite global resources.

Another example is that there will be less pollution such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide associated with combusting coal, oil and gas will be deposited into the biosphere.

Another example is that less thermal energy pollution will be deposited into the biosphere.

Further, instead of the waste thermal energy being deposited into the biosphere as a waste product, it can be sold and will have a significant value. This means that part of the cost of fuel for transport can be recouped, or could even be profitable. If the waste thermal energy from engines was made available this could be at less financial cost than the alternative of making thermal energy at the point of use by using electricity or by combusting a fuel such as coal, oil or gas. In other words, it could be cheaper for a consumer to buy waste heat from a transport ship for example than to pay for fuel to heat up the water themselves. Any form of transport could transform the waste heat product into a valuable commodity available for sale. Therefore, energy costs of households, businesses and transport could be reduced and goods could be produced and distributed for less cost. Energy is required for most of human activity, and the cost of energy contributes to the cost of most products and services. Enabling energy costs to be reduced by selling waste thermal energy can help reduce the costs of products and services to end users. For example, consider a cargo ship travelling from China to Europe, currently it pumps its waste thermal energy into the sea and has a significant fuel cost, for example 10 thousand GBP. This fuel cost is eventually passed on to the end users who pay towards this when they buy their goods and services. This invention proposes that instead of the ship pumping this waste heat out into the sea, it pumps it into storage tanks, for example in the form of hot sea water. When the ship arrives at port it sells this hot sea water because it is now valuable due to its thermal content.

An example calculation will now be done to illustrate this. Consider a 3 MW engine of 50% efficiency so that 500kW of thermal energy is produced. Using water as the heat storage fluid with a specific heat capacity of 4200 i/kg/K, every 24 hours this engine would raise the temperature from 20 degrees Celsius to 00 degrees Celcius of approximately 130 metric tonnes of water. The equation would be: Mass of water heated from 20 degrees Celcius to 100 degrees Celcius per day = amount of energy / (specific heat capacity * change in temperature) = 1 5 5x I 0 J/s * (3600 * 24)s / (4200 J/kg/K * 80 K) = l.3x 105 kg= metric tonnes.

This is approximately 130 cubic metres which is approximately the size of one "twenty foot equivalent" (TEU) container unit, (or a box measuring approximately 10 metres x 4 metres x 4 metres.) Such a ship on a journey of 10 days between land masses would arrive with a cargo of ten "twenty foot equivalent" containers of boiling water, or 1300 metric tonnes of boiling water. If the value of this energy content is compared to what it would cost to raise the temperature of this aniount of water on land using electricity, it would cost approximately 12000 GBP. The calculation to show this is as follows: I kWhr = 1000 Joules per second * 3600 seconds 3.6 x I 06 Joules Energy required to raise water temp of 1.3 x 106 kg by 80 degrees from 20 to 100 degrees Celcius = mass * specific heat capacity * change in temperature 1.3 x 106 * 4.2 x 1 3 * 80 4.37 x 10" Joules This many Joules is equivalent to 4.37 x 1011 / 1.3 x 106 = 1.2 x I kWhr.

If this energy was provided by electricity at a cost of0.10 GBP per kWhr then the cost would be 1.2 x i� * �0.10 = �1.2 x or �12'OOO GBP or approximately USD $25'OOO.

Once the ship reaches land, the thermal energy stored as hot fluid may be sold, distributed and used. It will be appreciated that the calculations shown here are for illustrative purposes only, but they illustrate that both that the quantity of water heated is significant and that the potential value is significant. 10 days represents approximately a typical journey time, and occupying 10 twenty foot equivalent containers is not a significant portion of the ships space required for cargo, such ships weighing many thousands of tonnes and carrying many thousands of twenty foot equivalent containers. It will be appreciated that the thermal energy may not necessarily be stored in twenty foot equivalent containers, but perhaps in purpose built storage tanks, but this gives an idea of the volume of storage that is required.

Ships with proportionally larger engines or on proportionally longer journeys would require a proportionally sized storage space. For example, a ship with a 50 MW engine (50 times bigger) travelling for 10 days would require 50 times more storage space and would have 50 times more thermal energy to sell. This would mean that it would heat up thousand tonnes of water from 20 to 100 degrees Celcius, requiring 500 twenty foot equivalent containers and the thermal energy content would be worth approximately �600'OOO GBP (US$1.2M).

In order to explain this invention further, reference will now be made to drawings. The invention will be described as it applies to water transport vehicles, trains and road vehicles. For water transport vessels there is the possibility to start the journey with empty storage tanks and take in sea water and deposit this water into storage tanks after heat exchange with the engine has taken place, or to start the journey with storage tanks full but with low temperature fluid and this fluid being circulated through the engine and becoming hotter as heat is exchanged to it from the engine. Alternatively, the ship may start with one or more tanks full of fluid and one or more other tanks empty, the fluid being pumped from the full tanks to the empty tanks via the engine where heat exchange raises the temperature of the fluid. Unlike water based vessels, non water based vehicles such as trains and road vehicles cannot take onboard fluid during the journey. A distinction will be made between vehicles that are operated almost continuously and those that are operated intermittently, the distinction being that the proportion of time the engine is warming up is small for continuously operated engines but is large for intermittently operated engines. For vehicles operated for long periods, the vehicle can carry with it fluid in one or more tanks that will store the waste thermal energy. For 1 5 vehicles that operate for short periods where the engine would not heat up to transfer thermal energy to the storage fluid, a proposal is made to run these engines while the vehicle is stationary and connected to a thermal energy collection system, an exhaust gas collection system (to collect carbon products such as carbon dioxide, and heat). While the engine is running it will be powering an electrical generator that produces electrical power, the electrical power being used to charge the vehicles batteries, and at the same time exporting electricity to for distribution over a local or national grid.

Figure 1 shows a water transport vessel, for example a cargo ship (also known as a container ship), using a system where the thermal storage tanks are initially empty and are filled during transport.

The hull of the ship I is supported by the reaction force of the water 2 and is propelled through the water 2 by propeller 3 attached to engine 5 by drive shaft 4. The ship carries cargo 8. Water 2 is admitted to engine 5 via opening 6 and inlet pipe 9 connected to or integral with a pumping and filtering system (not shown). The relatively cool sea water 2 passes through engine 5 and becomes hot. The hot water 12 passes via outlet pipe 1 0 to storage tank 7 which is preferably thermally insulated. The storage tank is preferably optimised for size and position so that safety and efficiency of the heat storage and transfer system is optimised. When arriving at port or at another suitable time and place this hot water is removed and transferred to a receptacle system for distribution and use.

This may be in exchange for financial transaction. It will be appreciated that there may be more than one tank 7.

Figure 2 shows a water transport vessel for example a cargo ship (also known as a container ship) using a system where one thermal storage tank is initially empty and one is initially full of relatively cool fluid and this fluid is transferred between the two via the engine during transport.

The hull of the ship I is supported by the reaction force of the water 2 and is propelled through the water 2 by propeller 3 attached to engine 5 by drive shaft 4. The ship carries cargo 8. Relatively cool fluid 13 is admitted to engine 5 via inlet pipe 9 cOnnected to or integral with a pumping and filtering system (not shown). It will be appreciated that this can be any suitable fluid optimised for this application. The relatively cool fluid 13 passes through engine 5 and becomes hot. The hot fluid 14 passes via outlet pipe 10 to storage tank 7 which is preferably thermally insulated. The storage tank is preferably of suitable size and position so that safety and efficiency of the heat storage and transfer system is optimised. When arriving at port or at another suitable time and place this hot fluid is removed and transferred to a receptacle system for distribution and use. This may be in exchange for financial transaction. Alternatively this hot fluid 14 is passed via a heat exchanger and returned to tank II, the criteria being that the tank II becomes refilled with relatively cool liquid once again and that a significant part of the thermal energy in hot fluid 14 is transferred for use at another location in another application. For example, a fluid is circulated from a land based storage tank through the heat exchanger and back to land, the fluid that remains on the ship transferring some of its thermal energy to that fluid, the result being that some of the stored thermal energy is transferred to the land based fluid for distribution and use. It will be appreciated that there may be one or more storage tanks 7 and 11.

Figure 3 shows a water transport vessel for example a cargo ship (also known as a container ship) using a system where one storage tank is initially full of relatively cool fluid and this fluid is heated by heat exchange with the engine during transport.

The hull of the ship I is supported by the reaction force of the water 2 and is propelled through the water 2 by propeller 3 attached to engine 5 by drive shaft 4. The ship carries cargo 8. Relatively cool fluid 15 is admitted to engine 5 via inlet pipe 9 connected to or integral with a pumping and filtering system (not shown). It will be appreciated that this can be any suitable fluid optimised for this application. The relatively cool fluid 15 passes through engine 5 and becomes hot. The hot fluid passes via outlet pipe 10 back to storage tank 16 which is preferably thermally insulated. The storage tank is preferably of suitable size and position so that safety and efficiency of the heat storage and transfer system is optimised. Storage tank 16 may be connected to or integral with devices or systems for minimising the mixing of hot and cool fluid. Over time the fluid 15 increases in temperature. When arriving at port or at another suitable time and place this hot fluid is removed and transferred to a receptacle system for distribution and use. This may be in exchange for financial transaction. Altematively the thermal energy contained in fluid 1 5 is passed via a heat exchanger to another fluid that is transferred to land, the criteria being that the tank 16 becomes refilled with relatively cool liquid once again and that a significant part of the thermal energy in hot fluid 15 is transferred for use at another location in another application.

Figure 4 shows a road or rail transport vessel for example a heavy goods transport vehicle or a train using a system where one storage tank is initially empty and one is initially full of relatively cool fluid and this fluid is transferred between the two via the engine during transport.

The structure of the transport vessel 22 is supported by the reaction force of the wheels 20 and the ground or rails 21 and is propelled along by wheels 20 attached to engine 5 by drive shaft 4. The vessel carries cargo 8 which may be goods or people. Relatively cool fluid 13 is admitted to engine 5 via inlet pipe 9 connected to or integral with a pumping and filtering system (not shown). It will be appreciated that this can be any suitable fluid optimised for this application. The relatively cool fluid 13 passes through engine 5 and becomes hot. The hot fluid 14 passes via outlet pipe 10 to storage tank 7 which is S preferably thermally insulated. The storage tank is preferably of suitable size and position so that safety and efficiency of the heat storage and transfer system is optimised.

When arriving at a destination or at another suitable time and place this hot fluid is removed and transferred to a receptacle system for distribution and use. This may be in exchange for financial transaction. Alternatively this hot fluid 14 is passed via a heat exchanger and returned to tank 11, the criteria being that the tank 11 becomes refilled with relatively cool liquid once again and that a significant part of the thermal energy in hot fluid 14 is transferred for use at another location in another application. For example, a second fluid is circulated from a storage tank remote from the vessel through the heat exchanger and back to that tank, the fluid that remains on the transport vessel transferring 1 5 some of its thermal energy to that second fluid, the result being that some of the stored thermal energy is transferred to the remote fluid for distribution and use. It will be appreciated that there may be one or more storage tanks 7 and 11.

Figure 5 shows a road or rail transport vessel for example a heavy goods transport vehicle or a train using a system where one storage tank is initially full of relatively cool fluid and this fluid is heated by heat exchange with the engine during transport.

The structure of the transport vessel 22 is supported by the reaction force of the wheels and the ground or rails 21 and is propelled along by wheels 20 attached to engine 5 by drive shaft 4. The vessel carries cargo 8 which may be goods or people. Relatively cool fluid 15 is admitted to engine 5 via inlet pipe 9 connected to or integral with a pumping and filtering system (not shown). It will be appreciated that this can be any suitable fluid optimised for this application. The relatively cool fluid 15 passes through engine 5 and becomes hot. The hot fluid passes via outlet pipe 10 back to storage tank 16 which is preferably thermally insulated. The storage tank is preferably of suitable size and position so that safety and efficiency of the heat storage and transfer system is optimised.

Storage tank 1 6 may be connected to or integral with devices or systems for minimising the mixing of hot and cool fluid. Over time the fluid 15 increases in temperature. When arriving at a destination or at another suitable time and place this hot fluid is removed and transferred to a receptacle system for distribution and use. This may be in exchange for financial transaction. Alternatively the thermal energy contained in fluid 15 is passed via a heat exchanger to a second fluid that is transferred to one or more storage tanks that are remote from this vessel, the criteria being that the tank 16 becomes refilled with relatively cool liquid once again and that a significant part of the thermal energy in hot fluid 15 is transferred for use at another location in another application.

Figure 6 shows a transport vessel that is operated for periods that are relatively short compared with the warming up period of the engine.

The structure of the transport vessel 22 is supported by the reaction force of the wheels 1 5 20 and the ground or rails 21 and is propelled along by wheels 20 attached to engine 5 by drive shaft 4. The vessel carries cargo 8 which may be goods or people. This vessel is a hybrid type vehicle capable of propulsion by more than one power source, in this example electric power and an internal combustion engine. It will be appreciated that other power sources could be used such as hydrogen. Wheels 20 are also connected to an electric motor 45 by drive shaft 34. Electrical power is supplied to electric motor 45 by batteries 36 via conducting wires 40 and control device 35. When stationary, the engine S is connected to exhaust gas collection system 33 by connecting tubes 38 and connector 32. This can be thought of as carbon capture with the purpose of reducing the carbon dioxide output of the engine 5. A heat exchanger may also be incorporated to capture the waste thermal energy contained within the exhaust gases. When stationary the engine 5 is connected to thermal energy storage system comprising a fluid 15 and a storage tank 16 via fluid transfer pipes 9 and 10 and connectors 30 and 31. The vessel cannot move when in this configuration. Sensors (not shown) can be connected to or integral with this system. These sensors could inform a remote system that the vessel is docked and that the engine can be started. The benefit of this is that in this configuration the vessel could form a cell of a multi-cellular electrical power generation system for a nation, and the vessel could be started manually or remotely. Once started, the engine 5 powers the electrical generator 39 via drive shaft 37. The electrical power generated in generator 39 is transferred to batteries 36 via electrical wires 40 and is also transferred to remote electrical system via electrical wires 41, electrical connector 42, electricity meter 43 and electrical wires 44. In this way, when the vehicle is docked and the engine is operating it is generating hot water for use elsewhere (this is the waste thermal energy that must be removed from the engine) and it is generating electric power for the purpose of charging its own batteries and for selling some electrical power to the national grid.

1 0 Many road vehicles stand idle between 6pm and 8am and again between 9am and 5pm if they are used for commuting purposes only between the hours of 8am and 9am and between 5pm and 6pm. In the UK if there are 25 million such cars (automobiles) that could be connected to a system as described here each capable of developing 50kW of electrical power at the same time as producing 50kW of thermal energy, this is potentially 25 x 106 engines * 50 x 10 kW per car = 1.25 x]0'2W = 1250 Giga Watts of potential electricity production (and the same thermal energy production). Connected via a computer system for example, as electricity demand for a nation varied, the cars connected could be brought on line or taken off line as required. To put this into perspective, the UK electricity production capacity in 2008 is approximately 50 Giga Watts. Providing that approximately 50 out of 1250 4% of the 25 million cars were connected and ready for operation if remotely called upon, this would guarantee national grid supply of 50 GW and would effectively remove the need to have power stations.

This would effectively mean that every car would be used as a combined heat and power plant (CHP) or tn-generation (power, heating and cooling) plant. The idea of CHP and tn-generation is not new and is not claimed here. However, this invention relates to using the engine of a transport vessel as a component in a CHP or tn-generation system that can be either networked and used collectively or used as a standalone system. The benefits of using CHP and tn-generation are well known, as well as producing electrical power the heat from the engine can be used to heat and cool buildings for example. A disadvantage of CHP and tn-generation is that one of the main components is an engine which is a significant proportion of the cost of the system. Another disadvantage of CHP is the space required to have the engine standing permanently in that place. Yet another disadvantage is the refuelling of the system and fuel must be brought to the engine. The advantage of using the car engine as the component of the CHP is that this component, although expensive, is already purchased and is often standing idle whenever the vehicle is stationary and out of use, which for many vehicles will be a significant portion of a day. The concept of having a hybrid vehicle comprising an engine, battery and electric drives is not new and is not claimed here. The advantages of hybrid vehicles are well known and include fuel efficiency due to factors such as the engine is not operating when stationary (for example when waiting for other traffic to move) and regenerative braking 1 0 (instead of frictional heating of brake components an electrical generator uses the vehicle's kinetic energy to charge battery and slows the vehicle down in the process).

There are desirable features of electric or hybrid cars, but an advantage of a hybrid car over a purely electric car is that of range, or distance that can be travelled when consideration is given to the infrastructure in place. For example it may not be possible to drive more than 100 km in a purely electric car without returning to base or another suitable location where battery can be replaced or recharged, but in a vehicle with an engine, refuelling stations with petrol or diesel (or other suitable fuel) are common place and driving range is effectively limitless. This invention relates to using the engine of a hybrid road vehicle as the engine component of a CHP or tn-generation plant, being either networked by being connected to an electric distribution system or being standalone for use in a locality. The benefits of such a system are that the energy in the fuel is used more efficiently since the waste heat is captured, the exhaust gases including carbon dioxide and heat can be captured before release into the biosphere, and potentially a nation such as the UK does not need to construct, fuel, maintain and decommission expensive electric power stations, Instead it needs to have approximately 4% of the nation's cars in the form of hybrid electric vehicles that can connect to the national grid.

When the nation requires more electricity generation capacity in the years to come it does not require more power stations but more hybrid cars networked to the grid. It will be appreciated that this system of connecting hybrid cars does not cure the dependence of the nation on fuels such as coal, oil and gas, but it helps by increasing the efficiency with which these fuels are used. In the future it may become possible to manufacture and distribute fuels suitable for car engines in a way that makes them effectively carbon neutral. For example it may become possible to manufacture carbon neutral biodiesel and ethanol for use in diesel and petrol engines respectively. If the nation has many coal fired power stations and such fuels become readily available and cost effective for use in engines, then the nation will be unable to make use of such fuels compared to if the nation had a network of hybrid vehicles each constituting a cell of the nations electrical power generating capacity, in which case, as each vehicle switched to the new fuel, the nations transport and electricity production would gradually switch over to the more carbon neutral fuels.

In order to explain this further, reference will now be made to drawings. Figure 7 illustrates the system where a relatively large power station 50 produces electrical power which is distributed to houses 52 along electrical conducting wires 51. It is common for the power demands of houses to increase and decrease at certain times of day, for example when people return from work in the evening and switch on electrical appliances. This means that power stations must have certain characteristics such as being capable of ramping up and ramping down their output. It is at peak demand times that the power station must still be able to meet the demand placed on it. As more and more houses 52 become connected to the power station the peak demand increases. At a certain point it no longer becomes viable for a power station to supply any more houses and another power station must be brought online.

Figure 8 shows the situation proposed by the current invention. Notably there is no relatively large power station required. Only three houses 52 are shown for clarity. Each house shown has a vehicle (for example a car or automobile) 53 parked next to it, which has integral with it or is connected to an electrical generator (not shown), exhaust capture device 54 (for capturing carbon products, and thermal energy) and thermal energy capture and storage device 55. When in operation, electrical power is supplied to the national grid or electrical conducting wires 51 via electricity metering device 56. This electrical power is made available to other houses 52 via their electrical metering devices 56. It will be appreciated that a single small car engine can produce approximately 50 kW of electrical power, but an individual house will not consume more than approximately 10 kW of electrical power at any one instant. Therefore in this example, a single car connected in this way would provide sufficient electrical power for approximately 5 houses at peak demand periods. It will be appreciated that these are approximate figures only for illustrative purposes. The principle is that with this proposed system it is not necessary to have power stations at all, it is only necessary to guarantee that there are sufficient vehicles connected to this system to meet the demand.

This proposed system shown in Figure g has the advantage over the current system 1 0 shown in Figure 7 that whatever fuel powers the vehicles (for example diesel or hydrogen or any other fuel) also powers the electricity production as well. In the event that new fuels become available for vehicle engines used in transport, this could be immediately exploited in power generation as well.

In the proposed situation as illustrated in Figure 8, the total energy consumption will 1 5 reduce while the energy supplied at the point of use will remain the same.