Fuel vaporization could boost gas mileage, cut emissions

[FarCenter]

R. Colin Johnson - EE Times - (01/26/2009 5:08 PM EST)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Piggyback electronics and an add-on "vapor chamber" could be used to increase the mileage of existing automobile and truck engines by almost one-third while lowering emissions.

Vapor Fuel Technologies (Beavercreek, Ore.) claims it accomplishes this by vaporizing fuel and mixing it with super-hot air, enabling modified electronic control circuitry to coax the same horsepower out of engines while burning less fuel and cutting emissions. The company plans to offer retrofit kits for American vehicles within a year, and hopes to close deals to include its technology on new models from U.S., European and Asian auto makers by 2010.

"What we have is a fuel-conditioning system," said Raymond Bushnell, founder of Bushnell Engineering Inc., also of Beavercreek, the contract engineering company developing the fuel vaporization system for Vapor Fuel Technologies. "We are working with Unichip of North America, which is creating the necessary electronic control circuitry to integrate our vaporization system into a retrofit. So we can take this technology and put it on existing vehicles, typically the gas hogs."

Electronic modules from Unichip (Hillsboro, Ore.) are typically used to boost the performance of existing vehicles by intercepting signals from sensors and modifying their values before delivery to an engine control unit. Instead of increasing horsepower, a module being created by Unichip for Vapor Fuel Technologies will modify data flowing to and from the stock control unit to accommodate the super-heated vaporized fuel mix that provides increased fuel economy and lower emissions.

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http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212902652&cid=NL_eet

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. "the 100 mpg carburetor" has been around for about that many years.

Believe it when I see it.

[JFN1]

3. Great story

Thanks for the post. It's criminal that this technology has not been widely implemented already, since it has been around for ma very long time (almost as long as internal combustion engines). Glad to see a company finally attempting to exploit it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. Don't get excited until its peer reviewed

If it was this easy *someone* would have gotten it out sooner.

[DCKit]

5. My dad had a Cadillac (early-mid 50's) in college that got 35 mpg.

Granted, 35 < 100, but it beats the hell out of the 13 mpg monstrosities of the early 70's.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. That Carnot guy and that damn cycle of his really makes this hard

[lumberjack_jeff]

8. Right. Don't give me any techno-crap about stochiometric ratios! n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. There are a lot of DIY projects for this out there...

And from what I have seen, they do work. This is worth keeping an eye on.

[FarCenter]

4. About the companies involved

http://www.vftllc.com/aboutus.htm

http://www.bushnell-eng.com/about.html

http://www.unichip.us/About-us.asp

http://www.ceecalif.com/

[Lance_Boyle]

9. will believe it when I see it

the term "vaporware" comes to mind...

Also odd that it appears they are describing a sort of turbo, and then indicating that "modified electronic control circuitry" performs some magic with the heated, aerosolized fuel-air mix. As if the injectors are not already spraying aerosolized fuel-air into the unmodified engine...

[Edweird]

10. hell with this plus some magnets aroung the fuel line and a swirly thingy for the air horn,

you'll end up saving so much gas you'll actually be PRODUCING IT!
:eyes:

Caveat emptor.
The rip-off artists come out in full force during hard times....