Engine Designed for Ethanol
Posted: February 17, 2009
Whenever I hear complaints about ethanol fuel efficiency, I have to laugh. Fact is, we are growing more and more efficient every day in how we use corn-based ethanol, and so much of the faulty research attacking ethanol is based on models that seem to have been first written back in 1973.
Newly announced engine technology “optimizes ethanol-fuelled engines to a level of performance that exceeds gasoline engine efficiency and approaches levels previously reached only by diesel engines,” according to the manufacturer.
Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection or EBDI, takes full advantage of ethanol’s best properties – higher octane and higher heat of vaporization – to create a truly renewable fuel scenario that is independent of the cost of oil. Work on this research project has been carried out at the Detroit Technology Campus of Ricardo Inc.
Another reason to like the new technology … Applications could reach far beyond the automotive and light-truck industry. “Imagine agricultural equipment that, in effect, burns what it harvests – corn, sugar cane or some other renewable substance. It could mean tremendous cost savings across many industries.”