Turbine Engine: No Pistons, No Lube, 30% Better Fuel Economy
There are more than 5,000,000 heavy duty trucks running up and down US highways each day. Every one of those trucks gets an average of 7 mpg, carries upwards of 200-300 gallons of diesel, and spews out potentially harmful emissions.
Like it or not, we depend on them to bring us our food, fuel, and products for everyday living. It’s a connection that most of us often forget about, only remembering it long enough to curse them as they slow us down on the highway.
It’s also an industry that has recently been hit hard by soaring fuel prices, and now, with the average price of diesel in the US at $4.70/gallon and climbing, it’s sure to get worse.
Needless to say, there’s a rising cacophony of voices within the trucking industry clamoring for relief. Most of this noise currently comes in the form of wanting a break in fuel prices, but really that’s just a temporary fix. Any solution with sticking power would have to offer both economic and environmental benefit — you know, win-win.
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Enter Turbine Truck Engines. The company has developed an engine for heavy duty trucks called the Detonation Cycle Gas Turbine (DCGT). Key features of this engine technology include:
- Uses over 30% less fuel than current heavy duty engines
- 30%+ fewer emissions including nitrogen oxide (NO, NO2, N2O2) and carbon monoxide (CO)
- Operates on all fuels and mixtures of fuels: biofuels, hydrocarbon fuels, hydrogen and synthetic
- Has few moving parts, requiring much less maintenance
- Has no pistons or valves, and uses no lube oil, filters or pump
- Is air cooled and lightweight (less than 2 lbs. per hp)
The company has been aggressively seeking investors recently and last year won the prestigious Frost and Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation.
Currently Turbine Truck Engines holds several patents and has a few prototypes under its belt. When (and if) their technology finally reaches the market, the combined savings on maintenance and fuel, as well as environmental benefits, could make this engine extremely popular with truck drivers and trucking companies worldwide.
What do you think? Is it worthwhile to invest in this type of technology, or should we move past fuel altogether and focus on other things such as our rail infrastructure for movement of goods? Is that even possible? Are big rigs a permanent feature of our society? Is there any way to run them entirely on electricity?
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Image Credit: Turbine Truck Engines
Electric engines are all well and good, but the power to
charge the eninges still has to come from somewhere.
Unless you are planning on building dozens of nuclear(!) power stations, Wouldn’t that use more fuel and make more air pollution?
BTW, The only reason I mention nuclear power is that there is no alt that can produce the amounts of power needed to charge X million electic cars/trucks….
Not good enough. America must rebuild its railway system, engineered to run on solar-electric power. Perfectly feasible, self-sustaining. Land beside railway lines is plentiful, trains are inherently capable of storing solar generated energy in batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.
Next problem…
oh yes, diesel engines are ruining peoples’ lives everywhere. what are we thinking? let’s just shut down the entire industry until we figure something else out.
I can’t figure out why no one is producing a serial hyrbid. Its senseless.
The Tesla roadster is a serial hybrid, why not make a truck one?
You have a gas (or diesel) generator that is operating at peek efficieny at all times (saves on gas) that is not connected to the road at all. It just generates power for the motors and batteries, just like the trains we have here in Chicago.
So why does no one do this for trucks?
Sadly this is an utter waste of time. Its so sad really. the ONLY way to save money is to not use gas.
If you had a commodity that everyone HAD to have and it was the only thing you sold and everyone knew it and HAD to suck it you.
Take a guess what happens when we starting using 30% less fuel? It will get 30% more expensive for that fuel.
Gas is $4 a gallon right bow June 10th. If on june 11th I could snap my fingers and raise our average fuel economy from 20mpg to 40mpg instantly in one day TAKE A GUESS what fuel would cost come june 12th.?
Thats right $8 a gallon. Its a lose lose I am paying the SAME price per mile drive AND I spent money to improve my mpg for nothing.
The ONLY solution is Electric Motors. IE NO GASOLINE AT ALL. then it does not matter what the raise the price too.
I disagree on the battery mass issue. first even if your 116 cubic meters is accurate (I question that though) but lets use it for now. HOW MUCH MASS does 116cubic meters of LITH weigh? Few hundred pounds?
Whats 400 Gallons of diesel weigh? 6.87 pounds per gallon of almost 2800 pounds!! and your concernd over 500-600 pounds Even 1000 pounds of batteries?
HOW FAR could a big rig go on 2800 pounds of batteries?
I have been in the trucking business since 1977, on May 12th,2008 we closed our company. This was due to the continued rising fuel cost, insurance and shippers refusing to shoulder the responsibility of the added cost of the fuel. We are now trying to sell our property here in Atlanta,Ga, but you know what has happened to the real estate market. We had planned to sell our property with a great shop and offices and fund our retirement. Now we are no longer living the American Dream and trying to be able to salvage what we have worked for. My stocks have gone south and they are worth about half what I paid for them.
I would invest in this engine because of what our country and our industry needs. Would love to be one of your supporters. I would love to able to test one of these engines and prove that this technology is what our country needs.
Looking forward to hearing from you in the future.
Joyce Patton
@ Joyce Patton
I do feel sorry for the trucking industry right now. It’s a group of folks that has no recourse to pass on the costs of high fuel prices (unless you belong to one of the mega-mega trucking fleets like Swift and can purchase your fuel a few million gallons at a time to negotiate a better deal; but I’d rather see the little independent truckers be able to make it more than I care about Swift).
We’re facing a growing crisis in how our goods are delivered. I hope that someday we can help the trucking industry to become more efficient and use alternative fuels, but right now it’s not an option. I’m glad you appreciated the article. Please pass it on to your former business colleagues and let them know that these companies are out there and need help to get their goods to market.
Interesting,
I’m wondering about four problems…
1. Thermal efficiency (cooling issues)
2. pollution due to too low burn temperature
3. drive wheel sealing
4. compressor power loss
If they can solve those problems.. hats of to them.
It is a difficult argument to tackle. On one side we need change now and on the other if we jump into the first promissing technology that could potentally make the best choice. If we aren’t careful we will just end up in this same situation again. To make the best choice we need to make sure our energy is sustainable and clean. The only option that is even close right now is electric. No matter what happens the US population will have to make a lifestyle change. I think this is going to prove to be the most difficult part. There are still peoplebwho don’t care enough to do anything about it not to mention the negative stigma the almost anything considered alternative has. The only reason everyone is for hydrogen is because of the publicity. Proof positive that we have to convince the public to convince the auto makers.