The Education of Environmental Engineering by Practical Stirling Engine using Woody Biomass

Abstract

The time has come to reflect on our civilization which has been blessed with convenient fossil fuels for the past 100 years. Fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas have become limited resources. In addition, bad effects caused by excessive carbon dioxide (CO_2) emissions have now begun destroying our global environment seriously. In these background, in 2005, we manufactured a practical Stirling engine using woody biomass fuels for the first time in Japan. Further we proposed a unique co-generation system with the Stirling engine that uses woody biomass fuels such as sawdust, firewood, and wood pellets. In this report, we introduce an educational challenge of environmental engineering using this Stirling engine. A unique system in which both heating/cooling and power generation are available can be constructed. And students in our laboratory have challenged to the design of a model Stirling engine contest "Stirling Techno Rally" last year. Then we took part in "RC class" and won third prize in the rally. We introduce "Stirling Techno Rally" and our radio-controlled model of Stirling engine car.