wow an oxygenate lowered PM, didnt see that one comming.

Butanol seems to be a very good substitute for gasoline, and now this shows that a substantial portion of diesel can be replaced by it.

It is now time that high compression engines develop a new ignition system. One of the first engines used a flame to ignite the fuel. Injecting already burning fuel or super-heated fuel is an obvious extension. The INNAS NOAX allows for super-high compression, and, perhaps, low pressure injection followed by super high pressure HCCI operation will eliminate worries about cetane ratings. The NOAX could even have a special mix period or cycle. Power take off could be from a turbine as it was in the Pescara machines.

It might be more efficient and cheaper in the long run to use hybrid trucks with Capstone turbines, and worries about octane and cetane disappear as do NOX and particulates. For higher efficiency a combined cycle can be used. ..HG..

I can't see that it makes much difference what we burn in ICEs. They can be manufactured and/or adjusted to run on many fuels.

And even pure diesels can be fitted to be pretty clean.

To me the question is: Which fuel(s) or mixtures will be best in terms of supply and infrastructure. Wonderful fuels we can't obtain in volume or can't afford won't prove very useful.

However I am impressed by the small but steady improvements in ICE technology that engineers continue to wring out.

To second Henry, turbines might be worth another look.

This R&D is an example of how unfocused that fuel research has become. The US fuels research program needs a clear directed vision of a national future fuels policy.

FWIW combined cycle turbines would do well for long haul trucks. Incredible power density, ability to run multiple fuels without worries about exotic emissions, and very low maintenance. The downsides to turbines in this case is thermal efficiency and elasticity. A series hybrid drive train would compensate for the elasticity problem. Combined cycle would help thermal efficiency but it would kill power density.

As an aside, thermal efficiency is only a useful metric to a point: if your TE falls from ~45% to ~30% but your fuel cost drops 50% along with maintenance costs then you are still ahead. The advantage of switching over to a series hybrid drivetrain is that if we ever get the EESU right we can just take out the range extender and drop in an EESU with an adequate range. The electric traction motors are already in place.

The specs don't appear to be as good as
LPG boosted diesel
with both increased power and lower fuel cost. A friend had the conversion done (not cheap) on a Nissan Patrol diesel then went on a two month trip with faultless economical performance. The next step might be CNG boosted diesel.

Instead of dying quietly it looks like the internal combustion piston engine keeps reinventing itself.

Why doesn't someone do some testing with supplemental hydrogen. It does a good job of reducing polutants due to the more complete buring of the fuel mixture and supplemental hydrogen systems are much less expensive than LPG or CNG and there is no cost for the hydrogen.

the U of M is doing supplimental H2 with diesel, not sure of the results.
Why would it reduce pollutants due to "more complete burning"?
Diesel and most SI engines operate with a 99.999 % combustion efficiency. There are many other reasons for emissions.

@anon

That is to say 99+% efficiency through the course of an entire stroke. Ideally, you want to get as much of the burn completed at or near TDC as possible.

Butanol has some good characteristics as a fuel for spark-ignited engines. For those who are interested, see www. butanol. com.

The problem is producing it. The bacteria that produce butanol need sugar as the raw material input, and where are you going to get your sugar? You could use cornstarch, but look at how many people are complaining about corn-based ethanol robbing the world's hungry of food.

That leaves cellulose, which is everywhere you see trees, bushes, and other plants. But then, one runs into the same problems that exist with celluslosic ethanol: How to break down cellulose into simple sugars. Many researchers are working on this problem, but we are only beginning to see large-scale cellulosic ethanol production.

I read Green Car Congress whenever I can access the site, in part to see what are the latest developments in this area.

The U.S. fuels direction seems sound to me. There is a lot of ongoing work in a lot of areas which maximizes probability of finalizing on winning choices. The government's job at this point is to help identify and develop widespread pilot programs for a wide variety of energy solutions.

What we are seeing is a half dozen or so alcohol-based solutions from waste or cellulosic feedstocks. We are also seeing the potential for algal oil-based diesel/jetfuels. We have the electrification of transport decreasing demand for all liquid fuels. Battery technology is following an exponent curve, shrinking pack size and increasing in e-density.

For the grid, we have an immediate solution to coal-fired power via conversion to abundant NG. As more and more solar and wind arrive the present day grid gets cleaner, and with badly needed restructuring, more efficient.

Meanwhile, an emphasis on low cost, low temp electrolysis, CHP gensets/FCs will rapidly build out the Residential Power Unit replacements for outdated grid elements. DoE and industry need to support this development - in spite of political influences to the contrary. There are millions of new jobs and economic growth in the offing.

Finally, national security rests not only on sustainable domestic fuel sources, but on de-coupling from heavily centralized distribution systems that, unfortunately, make easy targets.

Where to get sugar for Butanol? Try Hawaii, it grows like a weed here. Hawaii used to produce a million tons a year. Hawaii is also the perfect market for butanol with the highest petroleum prices and the most vulnerable supply line. The State government at least claims to support biofuel research. Then there is the perfect place to build a pilot plant, The National Energy Lab at Kona.