The atmospheric steam engine as energy converter for low and medium temperature thermal energy

Many industrial processes and renewable energy sources produce thermal energy with temperatures below 100 °C. The cost-effective generation of mechanical energy from this thermal energy still constitutes an engineering problem. The atmospheric steam engine is a very simple machine which employs the steam generated by boiling water at atmospheric pressures. Its main disadvantage is the low theoretical efficiency of 0.064. In this article, first the theory of the atmospheric steam engine is extended to show that operation for temperatures between 60 °C and 100 °C is possible although efficiencies are further reduced. Second, the addition of a forced expansion stroke, where the steam volume is increased using external energy, is shown to lead to significantly increased overall efficiencies ranging from 0.084 for a boiler temperature of T0 = 60 °C to 0.25 for T0 = 100 °C. The simplicity of the machine indicates cost-effectiveness. The theoretical work shows that the atmospheric steam engine still has development potential.

► The theory of the atmospheric steam engine was extended. ► Theory indicates that the engine can operate with temperatures from 60 to 100 °C. ► A forced expansion cycle increases theoretical efficiencies from 6.4% to 25.5% at 100 °C. ► This low temperature heat engine has substantial development potential.