MIT Scientists looks at ethanol boost for cars - 20% to 30% gain in mpg.

[JohnWxy]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1161775029059&call_pageid=968332188492

MIT researchers suggest a way of using ethanol to enable the use of turbo-charging (or super-charging) to boost power and therefor reduce engine size and increase fuel economy (reduce fossil fuel demand) for about 1/3rd of the cost of hybrid vehicles. Plus, this uses technology that is currently available and won't require years of development and the enormous investment that that requires.

read on:

The Toronto Star

Oct. 25, 2006. 02:51 PM
SCOTT MALONE
REUTERS

Injecting small quantities of ethanol into car engines at moments of peak demand — such as accelerating sharply or climbing a steep hill — could improve the fuel economy of gasoline engines by 20 per cent to 30 per cent, a scientist said Wednesday.

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working on the system, which scientists say would allow carmakers to use smaller engines in their vehicles, reducing weight and improving fuel economy at a lower cost to consumers than by adding a hybrid engine.

"To have a big impact on reducing oil consumption, one needs a low-cost way of improving efficiency, so a lot of people buy the car," said Daniel Cohn, senior research scientist at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He estimated that adding the ethanol injection system to a car would cost about $1,000 and that cars using the new system could be in mass production by 2011.
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Much attention has focused on hybrid cars, such as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius, which couple an electric motor with a traditional gasoline engine to improve fuel efficiency. But they are pricey — hybrid engines can add $3,000 or more to a car's cost — and account for just about 1 percent of new car sales in the United States.
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A turbocharger is added to produce more power. The ethanol injection system with the turbocharger would give a driver more power than a conventional engine of the same size.

The higher pressures and temperatures of a turbocharged engine can lead to a problem known as knock, which occurs when the fuel and air in the engine explode prematurely, hurting performance and potentially damaging the engine.

This would enable a 20% to 30% reduction in demand for oil! and much sooner than this could be accomplished by investing in hybrid vehicles. If there is an easier and cheaper (and quicker!) way of doing something, why do it the hard way????