I'm no Engineer

"Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection" (itsalwayssteve)
10/19/2016 at 13:00 • Filed to: innovation

I’m not even a scientist. But this looks mega-super-cool

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Does this mean that the ethanol created in the catalysts could possibly offset the inherent inefficiency of Ethanol as a motor fuel if you dump it into the fuel tank.

DISCUSSION (11)

bob and john > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
10/19/2016 at 13:06

sweet.

DipodomysDeserti > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
10/19/2016 at 13:08

Not sure what they’d use the ethanol for once they’re done. Ethanol combustion produces twice as much CO2 as ethanol used. I guess they could combust it and just keep collecting the ethanol.

handyjoe > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
10/19/2016 at 13:12

This is interesting. It’s still not terribly efficient, since ethanol (C2H6O) needs twice the carbon and half the oxygen of CO2.

The ideal solution is that a bunch of water is included and we end up with several leftover O2. Granted, that sounds explosive...

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
10/19/2016 at 13:17

Nope. CO2 + catalyst + water + electricity = ethanol is a long way from exhaust emissions + electricty (from where?) + water = ethanol on board a car, and capture of CO2 on board a car is... not really very practical. Total power to make the ethanol can’t outpace the power that the ethanol creates when burned. If you cede the idea to sequestering CO2 from somewhere else, then making ethanol to burn, then you’re on more sane footing. Say, a rig to capture home furnace emissions, process with house current, and produce an ethanol drip.

That might be doable, but the only sane way I could see this making its way into the motor industry would be if a power plant captures a portion of CO2 and uses down time capacity to produce ethanol, which *might* if one is extremely lucky compete with corn ethanol production cost. Which is something the source actually kind of hinted at.

Also, I have little faith in these “nano-spikes” showing resistance to impurities and high temperature.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/19/2016 at 13:23

I made a post, but there is the Euro Auto Festival in Greenville this weekend.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
10/19/2016 at 13:25

Definitely missed that post. Hmmmmmmmmm....

bhtooefr > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/19/2016 at 13:54

Interestingly, the original paper is actually available under Creative Commons: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201601169/full

Am I misunderstanding things if I say that 63% Faradaic efficiency would translate to 63% of the input electricity gets converted to ethanol energy? (Now, in a combustion engine, you’re looking at 40% or so at best at converting that back to power, and then further transmission/conversion losses (let’s say 10%), which would mean under 23% total efficiency, where you might get 75% efficiency by charging a battery with that excess energy, then transferring to another battery, then getting that to the wheels through an electrical system...)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/19/2016 at 13:54

It’s $10 if you order your ticket online, and that includes parking and transit.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > bhtooefr
10/19/2016 at 14:05

It’s kind of odd that they’re using that term, because normally you’d be discussing storing charge with something that is reversible for an electrical output. Something like a lead acid battery. Saying “we managed to store 63%” of transferred charge in theory might mean 63% to ideal potential energy in the ethanol bonds, but my background wasn’t that intensive. It’s not the whole and perfect accounting of electricity used, but it’s a start. You *do* get better energy production out of ethanol with a cell making electricity, in theory, but it’s not really that scalable for a car. But yeah, many serial losses.

Bottom line, it’s nice being able to reprocess ordinary things into a fuel or useful substance (see catalytic production of ammonia), but I get the feeling that the topic here is focused more on what to do with captured CO2 than economical production of ethanol. Which could cross over at some point, but I don’t see it happening *in* a vehicle.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/19/2016 at 20:04

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/sc-nc-and-ga-oppos-1787773013#_ga=1.12990711.1196905877.1454993437

If you go and would like to meet up, you can contact me here or jpelkmont94@gmail.com

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
10/20/2016 at 08:47

Got it. Haven’t decided yet, but I’ll definitely let you know if I do.