A Compost Powered Car

This is an idea to use a stirling engine to give electrical power to a car. Wikipedia says that a stirling engine is. "A Stirling engine is a type of closed-cycle regenerative heat engine with a gaseous working fluid. "Closed-cycle" means the working fluid is permanently contained within the engine's system, which also categorizes it as an external heat engine. "Regenerative" refers to the use of an internal heat exchanger called a regenerator which increases the engine's thermal efficiency."

The Core of the Car

So what would be used to give power to the stirling engine? What about compost piles? Nancy Trautmann wrote an article that says, "A well-designed indoor compost system, >10 gallons in volume, will heat up to 40-50°C in two to three days. Soda bottle bioreactors, because they are so small, are more likely to peak at temperatures of 30-40°C. At the other end of the range, commercial or municipal scale compost systems may take three to five days to heat up and reach temperatures of 60-70°C."

I believe compost piles could be a hot enough source to power a stirling engine on a car. And the compost pile does not have to be to large to get enough heat out of it.

Another advantage is how long a compost pile will last. Nancy Trautmann also said in her article, "Decomposition occurs most rapidly during the thermophilic stage of composting (40-60°C), which lasts for several weeks or months depending on the size of the system and the composition of the ingredients."

Some Compost Notes

The compost data was given on a 10 galleon capecity. More galleons would mean more heat. With the compost piles temperature and the amount of time it can last. I believe this would be a good source of power for a stirling engine.

What It Sounds Like

A stirling engine is considered a quite engine. And as far as I know compost piles do not make a noise. And that also goes with the electric motor. This would create a quite running car.

A Diagram In Words