ONGC regains position green motor

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) today regained its position as the most valued state-run entity in the country, a week after it was toppled by power generator NTPC.
A Phoenix company is developing a piston engine that runs without burning any fuel or creating exhaust. It may represent a breakthrough in producing electrical power more efficiently—and cleanly. Even the pressure in natural gas lines could drive this motor, without using any of the gas.

The engine also can be powered with liquid heated by the sun or by the energy that other machines waste, according to Rick Davis, who is on the board of directors for a company called PowerVerde. Partners Fred Barker, a retired Boeing engineer, and George Konrad, an expert machinist, developed the first prototypes of this engine.

Their motor uses a propulsion system they describe as a miniature version of something called an organic rankine cycle (ORC) generally used in much larger applications. In basic terms, the ORC uses a fluid that expands quickly when heated. The expansion pressure drives the engine. Then the fluid is cooled and returns to begin the cycle again.
Davis, Barker & Konrad explain their motor
At the end of the trade today, the market cap of ONGC stood at Rs 1,54,800.90 crore - ahead of NTPC's Rs 1,49,284.13 crore.

Shares of ONGC today surged 6.43 per cent to Rs 723.75, while NTPC dipped 1.60 per cent to Rs 181.05 at the end of trade today.

ONGC and NTPC are followed by MMTC, SBI, NMDC, BHEL, Indian Oil, SAIL, Power Grid and GAIL India in the top 10 most valued PSU firms.
The fluid that powers the engine could be heated by relatively small solar panels or excess heat from other machines like diesel generators. Davis says their motor could use the wasted heat from a diesel generator to produce another 50 percent of the electricity the diesel generator is putting out.

But the first electricity pumped into the grid by a PowerVerde engine probably will be produced using the pressure in natural gas pipelines. Davis says, when a gas line branches off from the main pipe to serve a group of homes, a set of valves called a “city gate” reduce the gas pressure to safe levels for distribution.
Of this, six companies - ONGC, NTPC, MMTC, SBI, BHEL and NMDC - figure among the 10 most valued firms across public and private sector entities.

Of the 10 most valued firms in the country, ONGC is ranked as the second most valued firm after private sector behemoth Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the use of alternative sources of fuel or electricity for heating and cooking can cause carbon monoxide to build up in confined spaces, such as a home, garage or camper, and can poison people and animals in enclosed or partially enclosed areas.

Carbon monoxide is found in combustion fumes, such as those produced from small gasoline engines, stoves, generators, lanterns, gas ranges, gas dryers and hot water heaters; or by burning charcoal and wood. Each year, more than 500 people nationwide die as a result of CO2 poisoning, according to the CDC.

Common symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, getting red in the face, chest pains and confusion.

“The symptoms mimic many other illnesses,” Elliott said. “People just don’t pick up on it.”