Minto Wheel Based Heat Energy Recovery Systems

According to The American Meteorological Society, anthropogenic heat (Heat released to the atmosphere as a result of human activities, from sources like industrial plants, space heating and cooling, human metabolism, and vehicle exhausts) typically contributes several hundred W/m2 of wasted energy in major cities and industrial areas. This project involves using Minto wheel (heat engine with pairs of sealed chambers, one of each filled with low boiling point liquid such as propane or R-12) to tap anthropogenic heat from several sources and convert it into usable forms, viz. , electricity, mechanical work, etc. Minto wheels operate even on small temperature gradients to produce large amount of torque and several horsepower. Waste heat of such low quality (temperature) is otherwise very difficult to efficiently utilize using conventional heat exchangers. For higher temperatures (large heat sources), the rotation of the wheel can be used to produce electricity in the conventional method. The applications of this technology are endless, from use in remote places with limited electricity supply, to efficient reconversion of waste heat from even small air conditioners, till large server farms, industrial furnaces and chilling towers.