The process uses the Leidenfrost effect to create ‘dry ice’ and taps the gas vapor to generate energy.
The Leidenfrost effect is a phenomenon which happens when a liquid comes into near contact with a surface much hotter than its boiling point.
Similar to the way water appears to skitter across the surface of a hot pan, the effect also applies to solid carbon dioxide, commonly known as dry ice.
Blocks of dry ice levitate above hot surfaces protected by a barrier of evaporated gas vapor, which the researchers used to power an engine.
Research paper co-author Gary Wells said: "The working principle of a Leidenfrost-based engine is quite distinct from steam-based heat engines; the high-pressure vapor layer creates freely rotating rotors whose energy is converted into power without the need of a bearing, thus conferring the new engine with low-friction properties."
This is the first time the Leidenfrost effect has been adapted as a way of harvesting energy, Northumbria University said in a statement.
The methodology can be used to make ‘long-term exploration and colonisation sustainable’ by using naturally occurring solid carbon dioxide as a resource rather than a waste product.
One of the co-authors of research Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar said: "Carbon dioxide plays a similar role on Mars as water does on Earth. It is a widely available resource which undergoes cyclic phase changes under the natural Martian temperature variations.
"Perhaps future power stations on Mars will exploit such a resource to harvest energy as dry-ice blocks evaporate, or to channel the chemical energy extracted from other carbon-based sources, such as methane gas."
