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The Internal
Combustion Engine has powered our
equipment for a hundred years and
has served us well. For half of that
time we have learned of its dire
consequences. Tetra-ether lead was
added early on in the gasoline
engine as an octane booster as
raising the compression ratio
increased the efficiency and
performance. Lead was later removed
when the harmful effects to humans
was found.
The higher the compression the
higher the efficiency on gas or
diesel engines as it reduced the
clearance volume, which is the fill
space between the piston and the
head.
This higher compression also comes
with higher combustion temperatures
creating large levels of Nitrous
Oxide, Benzopyrine, Carbon Monoxide
and other poisonous gasses as well
as unburned fuels and particles.
Recent Supreme Court decisions have
declared Carbon Dioxide as a
Greenhouse Gas to be regulated by
the E.P.A. Any thing burned with
Oxygen will produce Carbon Dioxide.
However if it comes from a growing
plant source it is a trade off as
the plant absorbs Carbon Dioxide and
omits Oxygen. In the burning process
the CO2 admitted is equal to the CO2
absorbed by the growing plant,
making it – in theory – CO2 neutral.
As for the so-called Fossil Fuels,
they have been encapsulated in the
earth for millennia. Burning this
fuel is a one-way street. There is
no carbon exchange.
New biofuels offer a new answer to
CO2 emissions, as they are liquid
fuels derived from plant growth.
They are divided into two
categories, ethanol for gas fueled
cars and biodiesel for diesel
vehicles. Ethanol extraction is a
costly process and has a lower power
output than gasoline --
approximately 12,000 BTU/Lb for the
former versus approximately 19,500
BTU/Lb for the latter fuel. Using
alcohol in a car, therefore, results
in less mileage than the same tank
with gasoline.
Ethyl alcohol is made from
distilling fermented grains like
corn or sugar cane. Methyl alcohol
is made from the destructive
distillation of wood or other
cellulose plant material, or is made
synthetically. Ethyl alcohol, or
grain alcohol, is C2 H5 OH, and
methyl alcohol is C H3 OH. Grain
alcohol is used for beverages, and
methyl alcohol is poisonous. Ethyl
alcohol for fuel use often has
dangerous additives mixed into it to
prevent human consumption, such as
formaldehyde. Methyl alcohol is
corrosive to a number of metals,
particularly the fuel systems in
older automobiles. Both fuels are
hydroscopic and absorb water, which
enhances the corrosion problem over
time.
While the burning of biofuels are
theoretically carbon neutral, the
use of any alcohol or E85 in an IC
engine does not reduce the CO2
pollution from the exhaust pipe.
Special E85 engines are now being
built to help this situation. The
burning of alcohol based fuels do
not appear economically feasible as
the extra refining and competition
with food supply will drive up
prices. The gasoline engine will not
run on biofuel as it must run in a
higher compression engine. The best
fuel for a gasoline engine is still
gasoline.
Of course a large supply of gas and
diesel comes from unfriendly sources
and is still an environmentally
dirty fuel.
Mercedes-Benz does not recommend the
use of pure bio-fuels in their
automobiles, or at least no more
than 5% be added to the regular
Diesel fuel. The concern is for the
steel injector pump pistons and
cylinders in older cars, and the
components in the injection nozzles.
Bio-fuels for Diesel engines need
further processing to remove the
glycerin that can cause piston ring
damage. Manufacturers are
complaining because the added
exhaust equipment is going to
significantly increase the price of
the Diesel engines and require added
maintenance.
Of course the low sulpher fuels have
driven diesel prices over gasoline
prices. Diesel engines cannot run on
gasoline or Ethanol, and the
automobile and truck manufacturers
are complaining that they will not
be able to meet future air quality
laws. Which is true, especially
after working on improvement in this
area for almost fifty years,
thousands of engineers and billions
of dollars spent with some, but
limited progress.
Perhaps when considering the now
greatly added costs to the gasoline
and Diesel engines of adding so much
computer controlled fuel systems and
pollution control additions, one
must again look most carefully at
the external combustion engine. The
external combustion engine is not
fuel sensitive and can cleanly burn
any light liquid fuel that is pumped
to the burner with NO added
pollution control equipment.
The external combustion Cyclone
engine burns its fuel at very low
pressures -- inches of water and not
pounds per square inch -- and the
long residence time of any fuel
particle in the burner means
complete and clean combustion. It
does not produce any unburned
hydrocarbons or CO, and when using
pure bio-fuel, there is minimum CO2
produced.
The Cyclone engine creates almost no
CO or NoX as it burns at
temperatures below 2300 degrees
Ferinheight at atmospheric pressure.
The internal combustion engine will
burn incompletely at 3000 degrees
under extremely high pressures;
during which time the toxic fumes
are created.
The Cyclone burner uses additional
secondary air to effect lower flame
temperatures, below the point where
NOX is produced. The Cyclone engine
is a closed loop system using
dionized water as the working fluid
and the lubricant. Therefore,
neither oil changes nor oil filter
changes are required keeping
maintance costs to a minimum and
keeping the vehicle on the road not
in the shop.
The cyclone engine has far fewer
parts than an internal combustion
engine: it needs no radiator,
transmission, muffler, catalytic
converter, carbon filters, urea
tanks, nor other components that
complicate and add cost to the IC
engine system.
The Cyclone engine is a complete and
total package, only 12 volts DC and
the fuel line need to be connected.
Everything else is contained in a
neat and most compact package, which
will make an easy installation in
yachts and boats, automobiles,
trucks, and small generators for RVs
and marine use. It is also smaller
and lighter than the IC engine it
replaces. It is also silent and
vibration free.
The Cyclone engine is a step towards
the true goal of energy independence
and is the answer to environmental
concerns. When all the facts are
weighed, the Cyclone Engine is the
only answer.
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