CABCY: A New Fuel System For Ships

The present world shipping fleet consumes 6 to 8% of the world´s supply of petroleum. Because of the increasing demand for and diminishing supply of petroleum, the increasing cost of shipping will retard world trade. The alternatives to petroleum fuels such as sail, coal, and synfuels may all have a future place in reducing cost. A new alternative is a hybrid power cycle utilizing liquid air and petroleum or hydrogen to save a considerable portion of the petroleum consumed in a conventional power cycle. This new cycle would be a cryogenic assisted Brayton cycle (CABCY). The conventional Brayton cycle is presently used for gas turbines. Cryogenic fluid stored on ship board would be obtained from liquefaction plants or from sea based energy production sources, such as OTEC, current, waves, or wind.