U.S. Dept. Of Energy Funding Three Compressor Research Projects
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is partially funding three research projects to develop compressors for refueling natural gas vehicles at home.
The University of Texas will get a US$4.3 million for work on an integrated, single-piston compressor. Because it has fewer moving parts, it will be more reliable, lighter, and cost effective than a four-piston machine.
Colorado State University will receive US$700,000 to develop a system that uses the vehicle engine itself to compress natural gas. A vehicle could be connected to any natural gas line for refueling.
Eaton Corp., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A., will get US$3.4 million for research to use a liquid, acting as a piston, to compress gas. It will engineer a heat-transfer material to control the temperature during compression and improve efficiency. The liquid compression system will eliminate the need for the high-pressure piston seals used in conventional gas compression.
For more information: energy.gov
