I may have been too optimistic. But 30% is still quite a bit.
Modern gasoline engines have an average efficiency of 20%. Say you put 100J into one. 20J of useful work will be produced, and 80J of heat. Now if 30% of that heat were captured, that's another 24J of useful work. In effect, we've doubled the engine's efficiency from 20% to 44%. That's pretty dramatic.
Modern gasoline engines have an average efficiency of 20%. Say you put 100J into one. 20J of useful work will be produced, and 80J of heat. Now if 30% of that heat were captured, that's another 24J of useful work. In effect, we've doubled the engine's efficiency from 20% to 44%. That's pretty dramatic.