Gasoline-Diesel Cocktail Could Make Engines Cleaner, More Efficient

But what might happen if someone mixed these two fuels up in the same engine? According to a research group from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the engine not only becomes more thermally efficient but cleaner burning, too.

Picture of Gasoline-Diesel Cocktail Could Make Engines Cleaner, More Efficient [source:gas2.org]

Led by researcher Rolf Reitz, the project explores the possibility of mixing gasoline fuel with diesel in a diesel engine. Using a computer controlled injection system to calculate and manage the amounts, Reitz says that engine efficiency can be increased by up to 20%, while slashing pollution emitted from the exhaust. Sounds like magic!

Actually, it has to do with the thermal properties of gas and diesel. Using a mix of gas and diesel causes the engine to operate at much lower temperatures by as much as 40%. If youve ever stuck your head under the hood of a running car, you know it can get hot enough to cook breakfast. With less energy lost through heat transfer the engine runs more efficiently. Mixing the two fuels also results in much more of the fuel being burnt, producing more power per pump and resulting in less unburned fuel flowing out into the air.

Using a heavy duty Caterpillar diesel engine, they were able to squeeze a 53% thermal efficiency out of the engine. This is especially exciting news considering that the most efficient engine in the world right now, the Wartsila Sulzer RTA96 C turbocharged two stroke diesel engine (pictured above) has a thermal efficiency of just 50%. This massive engine is found only on container ships and runs off of very filthy fuel. For comparisons sake, most ICE engines have a thermal efficiency of just 25%. The drawback is that this would require two separate fuel tanks, one for diesel, one for gas. But the benefits seem worth it.

The Science Daily article goes in depth into the technology and mechanics of this process, and I encourage you to read it as it is a very interesting read. I will leave you with one more tidbit; Reitz says that about 13.5 million barrels of oil are used in automobiles every day. If this blending of fuels was successfully applied to every car in America, it would drop our oil consumption by 4 million barrels per day. While 9 million barrels per day is still a lot, this technology seems to be available right now and would cut off our dependence on oil from the Persian Gulf.[source:gas2.org]

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