Ethanol Direct Injection engines: 30% better mpg @ $1,000 - $1,500 per engine - Does anybody in DC [View All]

[JohnWxy]

know these engines exist NOW?? ... and because of their relatively low cost compared to hybrids ($3,000 - $4,000 marginal cost) offer quicker adoption with attendant GHG reductions (much) sooner?

The MIT designed Ethanol Direct Injection engine uses about 5% ethanol and 95% gasoline. WHich means a 30% gain in mpg gets you about a 23% reduction in fuel consumption - therefor a 23% reduction in GHG emissions. But since only 5% of the fuel supply is ethanol this means your GHG emissions reduction is 20 times that on an ethanol per gallon basis, or 462% reduction vs gasoline.

Comparing Ethanol to gasoline on a Heat Value bais ignores how the fuel is used. What matters is what is the GHG emissions per mile driven.



http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/03/ricardo-boosts-ethanol-engine-technology-using-gm-motor.html">Ricardo Boosts Ethanol Engine Technology Using GM Motor

Contract engineering firm Ricardo Inc. is the latest company to announce a research breakthrough that’s said to optimize spark ignition engine performance to diesel-like levels of efficiency. Ricardo calls its new engine technology Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection. Its goal is similar or better fuel economy, with the same peak of 660 pounds-feet of torque, found in today’s GM 6.6-liter Duramax V-8 diesel, but from a 3.2-liter flex-fuel V-6




http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/stories/engine-tech/ethanol-boost/can-ethanol-boost-engines-replace-diesels-1.html">Diesel's Replacement? Ethanol Turbo Boost For Gas Engines Same Fuel Economy, More Power, Lower Cost 5.0-Liter 500 HP / 700 LBS-FT V-8!!!


Ford, in partnership with a group of MIT scientists, may be closing in on a radical twin-fuel engine technology that could be production-ready in the next three to five years (currently available from Ford in MKS and Taurus SHO ..gasoline only though. Using Ethanol can get 20% more mpg (click on image below)__JW). According to officials, this engine can deliver diesel-like power numbers with a more reasonable initial cost and without using high-priced diesel fuel and its expensive emissions requirements.

The scientists formed a company called Ethanol Boosting Systems and developed the technology based on computer simulations. This virtual model starts with a small but highly turbocharged gas/ethanol engine with separate injectors for each cylinder. The gasoline system mixes fuel with air in a normal air/fuel ratio using port injection in the intake manifold. The second system injects ethanol directly into the combustion chamber to control detonation, or knocking.

According to EBS, such an engine has numerous advantages over hybrids and diesels, including lower cost, reduced emissions and improved fuel economy. More important, though, the design would be most beneficial in trucks and other high-torque applications.


http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/stories/engine-tech/ethanol-boost/can-ethanol-boost-engines-replace-diesels-2.html
EBS' strategy starts with a gas engine that would be smaller than a diesel or gas engine designed for the same power application. So a V-8 becomes a small V-6 or even a four-cylinder. A monster 11-liter diesel engine usually found in an 18-wheeler would become a 7.0-liter gas engine.

"The technology applies across the board," Cohn said. "It works with higher rpm motors as well."

The smaller engine provides better fuel economy during normal operation, is less expensive to produce and reduces vehicle weight.