Low Consumption "Air Conditioning/ Refrigeration System" in AutoLPG Vehicles

Technology Description

This technology is a system that uses readily available cooling energy from the expansion of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to a gaseous state, to cool the cabin of LPG vehicles. In other words, the invention uses available energy to provide air conditioning (AC) in LPG vehicles. LPG fuel used in automobiles or vehicles is primarily supplied in liquid form and used in gaseous form. It is comprised of propane and butane as the main constituents. When the liquid LPG fuel is extracted from the container fuel tank for combustion in the engine it is driven through a vaporizer where it changes its state from the liquid to the gaseous form. In doing so, it takes up the "Latent Heat of Evaporation", generating very high amount of high quality cooling without the need of any additional fuel consumption. In scientific parlance this cooling is termed as the "Joule Thompson Effect." This cooling occurs without the need of any compressor or condenser assembly.

The perceived benefits of the invention include fuel savings associated with reducing the fuel needed to run the AC unit in LPG vehicles; reduction in vehicle emissions since less fuel is used to operate the LPG vehicle; and less expensive vehicles since the invention does not require a compressor or condenser to provide cooling in the vehicle cabin - these key conventional AC unit components are not needed. The invention has reached a proof-of-concept stage of development having passed several lab scale performance tests. The inventor was awarded an Indian patent for the invention in 2009.

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