E-85 Conversion

[fellro86]

I doubt they are readily available, but you could do more research into it and maybe find out better.

[aurgathor]

Originally Posted by fellro86

I doubt they are readily available

That's my point. How relevant is a technology for home brewed ethanol when it's not yet available outside of some research labs?

Because of the huge potential, I'm sure people are working hard on it to make it commercially available, but it may still take quite a while until actual production will begin.

BTW, there's another one, that uses some tropical bacteria or fungi to break down cellulose. That was known at least since WWII (when it caused lots of grief), but it was only recently that someone has realized its hidden power, the possibility to cheaply and easily turn the otherwise not particularly useful waste products into sugars.

[fellro86]

I wasn't actually speaking of home brewing it as yet, but if things keep the way they are, it may be realistic eventually.

[Torque1st]

I had heard about the genetics lab discoveries for biowaste to alcohol production. AFAIK it will be a very closely guarded secret and patented. Not exactly available for home use. Who knows, maybe some of the "bugs" will be stolen out of the lab and made available to home users thru websites.

The new trash to oil plants will be interesting also. They have one of those in Missouri but it has odor & vermin control problems. They are trucking wastes to the plant and the leaks during transfer are causing problems. They should have built the plant closer and used a pipeline.
http://www.res-energy.com/press/view_release.asp?id=1

Speaking of alternatives check out this article, especially the "fly zapper" (bugs->sugar):
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/s...c19barrel.html

[aurgathor]

Originally Posted by Torque1st

I had heard about the genetics lab discoveries for biowaste to alcohol production.

You mean this one? http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/2004/040628.Ho.ethanol.html

[johnnydmetal]

I ran the dyno programs for gasoline and I was figuring the alcohol conversion only for ethanol. Virtual Engine Dyno is the one program I still have on this pc I'll have to look for the others on my other macine. Alot of the milage gain came from the rear axle ratio and the change to MSD over the old points setup. I was able to adjust tire size as well and found that I had been using the right tires all along. I think they're 235/70/r15's. The old diff was 3.75 and I swaped it out for a hard plated set of 2.91. This may sound like it bogs you down but it only means your not gonna run the quarter mile real quick. I mis quoted the displacement but Here are engine the engine specs
Bore 4.110 Cylinders 8
Stroke 3.78 Compression ratio 9.50
Cam Type Hydraulic @ +10 Deg
Exhaust Headers
Intake Type Dual Plane Aluminum
Stock Heads In 2.02 Ex 1.60
Electrical Alternator
HF Water Pump F/P Electric W/Cool tank
Wrist Pins Stock Press Fit Stock Rods
Spark Advance Electronic No Fan (electric)
Cubic In 401.4 Liters 6.5
Est. Shift Point @ 2750 rpm
Est. Peak HP 339.7 @ 3500
Est. Peak Torque @607.7 ftlb @ 2000 Big block Ford 390
NOS not used Duration @ 0.050 192 Lift 0.247
Estimated Launch @ 2350 rpm Cam Centerline 116 deg
Differential Limited Diff/Gear 2.91
Transmission C6/Automatic
9.67 mpg in 1 ^st gear at 25.75 mph
15.38 mpg in 2nd at 43.35 mph
19.91 mpg in 3 ^rd at 63.25 mph
You'll note the peak torque output is around the engine idle. Since I plan to use the truck as a haulerand mostly highway the engine/axle combo is ideal for me. As far as I'm concerned the gains I should get from the modifications I've made for pump gas will be awsome. Even if its like 12-15 mpg. But if we all eventualy switch over to bio fuels, feul cell, and hybrid electrics I would not mind the return to 10-12 mpg on e85 or 7-10 mpg on m85. I just hate to think I will have to park the old gal and turn it into a monument.
John

[Torque1st]

Yep, thats the one, at least the license to Iogen is not exclusive, but I doubt they put that bug in the public domain.