Zero Pollution Motor

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We have always depended on fossil fuels like Petrol and Diesel to power our car engines. In today’s world of growing population and exhausted resources, prices of these fossil fuels have skyrocketed and we need a solution to deal with protecting our natural fossil fuels and invent ways to lead better lives with green energy sources. With this view in mind, MDI (Motor Development International) came up with a breakthrough invention known as the Zero Pollution Motor which runs completely on compressed air. Air is a green energy source and comes across as a zero emission fuel too. Based on this principle, the first Compressed Air Car was developed in 1997 to prove the fact that compressed air can indeed be used as a bio-fuel source to drive cars.

Why was the Zero Pollution Motor invented? When was the Zero Pollution Motor invented?
 

The core issue of pollution arising from fossil fuels and the ultimate degradation of the environment has inspired the makers of this Zero Pollution Motor. As the name suggests, this motor runs on compressed air and hence results in zero pollution and almost three times lesser carbon dioxide emission compared to a traditional thermal engine. This was invented in 1997.
 

What is the history of the Zero Pollution Motor?

The Zero Pollution motor is aimed at developing an eco-friendly solution to polluting traditional car fuels. These conventional fuels which are majorly fossil fuels are not only costly but they also emit poisonous gases which pollute the environment resulting in polluted air, breathing disorders and acid rains too. Greener sources like bio-fuels are the only solution to this problem and in the case of Zero pollution motor, air is used as a fuel source to run the car engine. However, this idea is not a new one but is rather an improvised version of the revolutionary idea of the Compressed Air locomotive invented way back in the 19th century. Periodic improvisations have resulted in the Zero emission car engine which was fondly named as the AirCar. Research on Zero Pollution motor began as early as 1997 however the Air Car was first unveiled in 2002 in South Africa and later went on to win the Automotive X Prize at the New York Auto Show.
 

Explain the working of the Zero Pollution Motor. What is the principle behind it?

Air when compressed has the capacity to produce force enough to run an engine. Generally an electric source or a fuel is used to light and compress air to the desired pressure. This helps run the car engine. What is more interesting is the fact that while it takes just about 3 minutes to fill air into the tank, this air is then filtered to remove impurities, dust and humidity thereby providing really clean air for compression. Thus it has been proved that the air emitted out of exhaust pipe after compression is cleaner than the air with which the engine was filled. This means that there is lesser dust, toxic gases, smoke and pollution from such zero-pollution motors. When compared to a conventional engine, it can be seen as 4 times lesser pollution. The running of the Zero Pollution motor completely depends on Speed factor. Hence as long as the car runs below 35 mph speed, air is compressed continuously thereby running the car without any other fuel. Once this speed is crossed, petrol or diesel is required to compress air. It is also to be understood that crossing this speed limit may also lead to certain emissions contrary to ideal conditions.
 

What are the applications and uses of the Zero Pollution Motor?
 

This motor has been used in the revolutionary Air Car thereby using air as a bio-fuel. Air is compressed thus resulting in higher efficiencies and lesser emissions. When driven below 35 mph, this motor is sure to not emit any pollution at all. Once this speed is crossed, an external fuel is required to heat and compress air and some emissions may also be seen. The air coming out of the exhaust pipe post compression has been proven to be cleaner than the fuelled air due to filtering techniques involved before compression. If this invention is made available to public, the world will see a cleaner environment, lesser pollutants eventually helping us contribute our little towards curbing global warming. Added to this, this fuel source is also cheaper compared to conventional fuels and the electric outlet connected to the Air car (to compress air at higher speeds) can also be recharged on a daily basis at a very nominal cost. MDI has come up with a design of an Air Car which can accommodate up to 6 people including boot space for luggage which means it can compete with any other car in the market today.