Dr. George Courville, Ecotera Energy chief technical officer, is shown with Ecotera CEO Lisa Starbuck and Engineers Club President Uwe Zitzow. Click to enlarge all our photos.
- photo by Christina Siebold
Dr. George Courville, Chief Technology Officer at Ecotera Energy in Knoxville, said Monday that Ecotera is developing an improved gas turbine technology that would enhance fuel efficiency by 25 percent.
In a presentation to the Chattanooga Engineers Club, Dr. Courville said the technology was not new, but an improvement over the conventional closed-cycle gas turbine engine.
The improved technology is called Thermochemical Energy Conversion (TEC) and depends on the use of a chemically active working fluid instead of air to power closed-cycle gas turbine engines. Dr. Courville said the TEC turbine would enjoy flexible fuel options. The team at Ecotera Energy is currently working with nitrogen tetroxide because “it is readily available and well understood.”
As the nitrogen tetroxide moves through the compressor and is heated, it dissociates into nitrogen dioxide, then dissociates further into nitric oxide and oxygen. After passing through the expansion turbine the elements cool and recombine into nitrogen tetroxide by the time it reaches the compressor, where the cycle begins all over again. Because nitrogen tetroxide has three times the density of air, and because much less work is required to operate the compressor, the TEC turbine will create higher power output than the traditional air system.
Dr. Courville said the only significant redesign in the micro-turbine’s air system would be a modified compressor that will allow for higher density fluid.
Once fully developed, Dr. Courville says the TEC turbine can be used “anywhere we use micro-turbines today,” including hybrid electric cars, aircraft and a wide variety of military applications. The TEC turbine can use a variety of fluids, including clean and renewable energy such as biomass, biofuel and solar energy.
Dr. Courville said Ecotera Energy hold the exclusive license for research, development and commercialization of the TEC turbine. They are currently seeking the necessary funding for bench tests and prototype development.
Ecotera Energy estimates $600,000 will be needed for a bench model, which will take 12-18 months to complete. A prototype of the TEC turbine will take an additional $2 million and 18 months to complete.
Dr. Courville cautioned the engineers that the technology was not yet fully developed, but voiced confidence in the final outcome. “There is a big difference between a concept and an engineered device. I can’t guarantee anything, but the analysis is solid and we don’t foresee any showstoppers."