Maybe this post should go under "fuel economy", but I'll put it here first. My question is directed to the more "techno-geecky" members of this chatroom. I'm curious to know two things: 1. Is there any indication that we will someday have an equivalent to bio-diesel that will run in our gasoline engine cars? I know we have ethanol at 10 percent max, and that's a start, but what about a totally renewable fuel that will run in a gasoline engine? I can imagine such a fuel, probably alcohol based, being developed and which could run in a Prius with some engine modifcations to control corrosion and degradation of the tubing which is what limits the alcohol content at present. 2. Anyone have some hard facts on this and not idle spectulation? Is Toyota working on this? How sweet it would be to have something like a bio-diesel hybrid. That has been done, conceptually, by the Big Three but abandonded in favor of SUV's and short term "screw the earth" profits. In the interim between the gasoline hybrid Prius and the as yet unannounced bio-diesel Prius, it would be great to have something cleaner and less poltically damaging than gasoline to put in our cars. I envy my partner being able to make his own fuel in the garage, although I still prefer the Prius to the Jetta.
Actually, I moved it to environmental since it pertains to alternative fuels. We do currently have E85, which is 85% ethanol. This does require some modifications to the vehicle's fuel system, and auto manufacturers do have a handful of them on the market, primarily for brownie points to the feds. Biofuels certainly are a part of the overall equation. You won't see widespread acceptance though, untill the cost of fossil fuels surpasses bio fuels.
There is no reason why a hybrid vehicle could not be designed with an external-combustion engine, such as the Stirling-cycle engine. External-combustion engines can typically be designed for any fuel. (I don't mean necessarily that one engine burns all fuels, but that the maker can design the engine for whatever fuel it likes. This could easily be alcohol. My HOG model Stirling engine runs on rubbing alcohol.) The problem with using a Stirling engine in a car is its very slow response time. But in a properly-designed hybrid, response time would be irrelevant, as the battery would provide instantaneous power, and the engine would merely keep the battery charged. There are also model Stirling engines that run from the heat of the palm of your hand, from a cup of hot coffee (though if you drink the coffee, the engine stops) or even from an ice cube, in which case it's the ambient heat flowing through the engine and into the ice cube that generates the power. So the answer to your question is, yes, it is entirely possible to power cars from bio-fuels. Whether the folks who sell cars and fuels will ever give us the option is another matter.
I don't know if this technology is legit or not, but here's a place that can turn any organic refuse into oil... http://www.changingworldtech.com/home.html They're not advertising turning trash to gasoline, but close.
I'm certainly hearing about bio-diesel these days -- particularly a local brand, Dr Dan's Fuelwerks in Ballard. First heard Krowe mention it, in regards to a new diesel VW Bug he bought. Then my friend who bought a VW diesel Golf mentioned that he's "using Dr. Dan's speciality blend". Sounds a bit like microbrew branding (or, err, other things I remember from my days in Oregon). But, more power to Dr. Dan and his customers!
