Re: Emissions...%-{

[Frank Deutschmann <fhd@interport.net>]

Jack Van Geldern sez:
> 	I think you could make an engine with very low emmisions
> without all the emmision control add ons, just fully vaporize 
> the fuel before it gets in the combustion chamber.

Well, you're sort of on the right track, but that "just" is a mighty
big "just!

>  Your gas
> stove at home has very low emmisions, nearly the same could and
> has been done in an engine.

Your gas stove is not asked to put out 200 HP mechanically with
varying loads and under all temperature/atmospheric extremes!

It is true that extremely low emissions gas engines (both two and
four cycle) have been built.  However, emissions, power, and fuel
economy are a delicate balance -- for example, a perfect
stoichiometric ratio of air/fuel (the so-called lambda point) is
good from an emissions point of view (leaner and the engine won't
survive!), but not optimum from a power point of view.  There are
many trade offs, and no one solution will be optimum for all points
of view!

>  The problem is it would be much
> more efficient and the oil companies and US Gov. would lose
> lots of money.  I would be happy to discuss it offline.  One
> question:  How much of the gasoline going into the engine
> actually contributes to the engine?  Anyone have a real
> answer, not a guess?

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, so I believe that Detroit, Big Oil,
and Big Gov't have all worked very hard on this problem.  The
solutions they have come up with range from the off-the-wall to the
workable, but as yet, I don't believe that they have the technology
to build that 100 MPG 800BHP mini-van.  (I'm certain there would be
a market!)

Yes, otto engines are notoriously inefficient, but then there are
bound to be inefficiencies any time you attempt to convert chemical
potential energy to mechanical kinetic energy.  Anyone who tells you
that turbines could be applied to autos with 98% efficiency is
simply lying.

-frank
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