Liquid Piston

This post is about a new type of air-fuel engine that combines the best traits of the standard internal combustion (IC), the diesel, and the wankel rotary engines.  Developed by Dr. Alexander Shkolnik and his father Nikolai, this engine operates at something like 75% efficiency, and because it burns its fuel so thoroughly, it spews very little pollution and in fact does not require the usual array of  abatement measures that are currently standard for the auto industry.

Liquid Piston Engine

The liquid pistion engine is compact, quiet, and very efficient. It also has only thirteen moving parts, making it much less complicated than an IC engine. That makes it very intriguing as a complement.to the hybrid, battery electric technology that is slowly emerging as an automotive alternative. As the price of gasoline inevitably goes up, so will the demand for auto options that use dramatically less hydrocarbon fuel. 

Diesel engine and Liquid Piston Engine

Ultimately,  I see the world going to fuel cells running on hydrogen as the best complement to batteries in automotive vehicles,  but the liquid piston engine could well be a worthwhile interim technology on the road to fuel cells.

Here is a link to a Popular Mechanics story on the liquid piston engine.http://www.liquidpiston.com/newsdesc/nid/27.html

Here is a link to the Liquid Piston website   http://www.liquidpiston.com/default.html