Environmentalists concerned about the fumes emitted from exhaust pipes might have less to worry about in the next few months.
Orest Symko, a physics professor and researcher, is in the process of producing a working prototype of a new technology that utilizes waste heat from an exhaust pipe or power plant and converts it into electricity.
The business working on the Thermo Acoustic Piezo Energy Conversion project started in July 2003 with funding from the United States Department of Defense.
The converter takes the waste heat and tunnels it through an acoustic resonator, which in turn changes it into electricity through another device. Symko said his idea for the energy converters came from an effect discovered in the 18th century by glass blowers who noticed that when one end of a glass tube was heated to a high temperature, it emitted sound.
The research can be used in a large number of applications, said Troy D’Ambrosio, director of the Pierre Lassonde New Venture Development Center. The device might be able to harness waste heat from power plants to create electricity. Other applications include thermal management of high power electronics and harvesting solar energy on Earth and in space.
The Lassonde Entrepreneur Center heard about Symko’s research and decided to develop a business plan. D’Ambrosio said the science, engineering and Master of Business Administration students, who created the plan, decided the research could be used in an industrial setting and for hybrid cars.
“We think there’s an application in industrial settings, refineries and industrial plants,” D’Ambrosio said.
He said they are testing the converter at a power plant south of the David Eccles School of Business.
The electricity generated is also a factor, as it could be sold back to a refinery or power plant that could purchase the devise to emit less fumes.
Devon Hull, a senior in environmental studies, said he thinks the converter is a great system for helping people make energy systems more sustainable.
“The air quality in our valley is causing major health problems for people, and the CO2 emissions from cars are contributing to the problem of climate change, not to mention the ever-increasing gas prices,” Hull said. D’Ambrosio said the converter will increase energy efficiency and does not produce any pollutants.
Craig Forster, director of the Office of Sustainability, is skeptical of the work. He said that when he first heard about the converter, it sounded like a great idea for the environment. Now he is concerned about side effects of running the converter.
“I don’t know what would be required to scale up the technology to be commercially viable,” Forster said.
D’Ambrosio said the technology is still in the developmental stage, but once they get a working prototype the team will work on who and where to sell it to.
“Hopefully, it will help the local Utah economy and its business if it stays here,” he said.