Motorbikes run by air

Indian manufacturers declare that compressed-air motors for motorcycles can be sold in the market within a year.

Illustration.

Bharat Raj Singh, a researcher at the SMS Technology Institute in Lucknow, India, says that in this engine, compressed air will spin the turbine to produce electricity.

Test version of the engine was born. It can help a motorbike run at a top speed of 50 km / h in 30 minutes.

Like Vietnam, motorcycles are the main means of transportation in India. However, motorbikes emit 77% of emissions that pollute the environment. Singh asserts that if all motorcycles use gas engines, their emissions can go down to zero, and total emissions can be reduced by more than half.

"If we can reduce the level of pollution in developing countries by between 50% and 60% today, the rate of global warming will drop sharply ," Singh said.

Singh says mechanical motions can be obtained by using pumps powered by solar energy or some form of renewable energy. As a result, gas-powered motorcycles will be cheaper, more environmentally friendly than electric and gasoline vehicles.

From the compressor, the air is directed to a small turbine. The expansion of the air causes the turbine to rotate and travel to the motor. No gasoline or any fossil fuel is involved in the operation of the engine. Its waste is just air.

The biggest challenge, according to Singh, is to make the air compressor so that it can provide enough air for long trips. The test version can keep the atmosphere in a pressure environment that is 20 times higher than atmospheric pressure. Now, experts are looking to create a compressor capable of withstanding over 300 times the atmospheric pressure. If their efforts are successful, gas engines can help motorcycles run 6 hours instead of the current 30 minutes. That time enough to pass the 250 km without having to replace the compressor.

If researchers can overcome the challenges, gas engines can serve many other things, not just motorcycles. People can increase the size of the turbine for cars, generators. Families can use wind, sunlight or electricity to compress the gas in the tank. As a result, people can turn their homes into ultra-small power plants.