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Old 06-10-2015, 02:24 PM   #4 (permalink)
RustyLugNut
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The idea of increased oxygen for combustion . . .

. . . is an old one. Without the presence of the buffering nitrogen, the oxidation of any fuel would be very fast and would not suffer the side reactions that result in NOx pollutants.

However, flame speed is not just increased, but the flame temperature becomes exceedingly high. Parts longevity becomes a serious issue. If I recall, an Xprize entrant proposed to run an internal combustion engine with pure oxygen and fuel. Bottled O2 or the use of adsorption technology was to feed an engine with ceramic coatings. Even then, at high relative loads, the cutting torch heat produced by pure O2 and fuel would damage parts in short order. Discussion on the forums suggested steam as a buffering gas, but the now bulky fueling/concentrator system would be saddled by an even bulkier water tank and/or condenser.
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