Forbes: Oil Price Bubble to Burst Within a Year

I think it might be a little wishful thinking ... but, I pray he is right!

 

Fortunatley it has given time for the Ethanol industry in Australia to get started. Two major chains are selling it. It is currently mixed in at 10% but it is planned to increase it to an 85% mix which would mean that as a nation we would no longer need to import fossil fuel from the arab nations at the prices they charge. If Ethanol takes off globally, nations across the world including the U,S and the U.k could also be self sufficent in their fuel supply. Hence those who use oil money to fund terrorism, may well find themselves in some trouble, which cant come soon enough if you ask me!

 

Can ethanol be used for gasoline engines, or would some type of conversion need to be done?

 

You may already be driving a Flexible Fuel vehicle (FFV) and not know it!

 

oh, how I long for that day.

 

Is Forbes buying short or long? <G>

 

If an engine was designed for 100% alky the compression could be boosted to 12:1 or so but in a machine designed for 87 octane the MPG is terrible.

 

It is.

Oil production is in decline in most of the largest oil producing countries, yet energy demand is increasing around the globe as economies grow and nations develop (i.e. China, India). The world’s population is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050. Oil reserves are shrinking . . . It's basic supply/demand.

 

Standard gasoline engines can run on 10% ethanol with no problems. In fact, they will see a reduction in engine fouling. Fifteen percent is risky unless you know for certain the car can handle it. More than 10% can cause damage due to friction.

To run completely on Ethanol, a car does require major modifications, but this can be done.

Other countries that do not have good oil supplies will typically produce a gasoline substitute from coal, which works very well with no conversions. The United States ought to consider this method considering the large coal deposits we have right here in the US.

 

Miles per gallon is related to a lot more than octane. It has to do with energy level, flash point, air mixture and other factors.

Octane is ONLY a measure of premature detonation and has NOTHING to do with energy level of gasoline. Higher octane gas is simply made by adding anti-knock (premature detonation) chemicals.

Alcohol actually increases the level of octane when added to gasoline and by itself has a higher octane rating.

I am not sure what the optimum compression level for complete Ethanol would be, but suffice it to say that a gasoline engine converted for more compression usually has a lot more friction wear.

Billwald, I am assuming that is what you are talking about and you are saying that the compresssion of a car using 87 octane would be too low to prevent premature combustion for it to be optimum for alcohol. I would have to take your word for that because I do not know the optimum compression levels for alcohol; but I wanted to make sure others knew what octane really was.