I'll be right with you on the steam brainstorm as soon as I'm convinced that the stirling solution is either not viable or cost prohibitive. It seems to me that anything that can get the job done while avoiding carrying a reservoir of water around (even a small one) may be the better choice. I'm not trying to start an argument here. Believe me, I don't want to waste time just for the sake of argument. I think trying to harness this extreme heat is an excellent idea. With a bit more google research, it looks like it was
discussed here on EM at one point (with little result). I also found
this study that appears to be legit, and claims to have recovered 3% of the heat capacity of exhaust gas. They said it could be improved upon, which I'm sure is the case. At least that's something to start with and shoot for with a steam turbine. I won't poke at this stirling idea until I've done a little more digging, because I have yet to put it to bed in my own mind in terms of physical limitation or monetary limitation. It still
feels like it would work more efficiently than steam. Like I said, then I'll be with you in the steam turbine brainstorm.