EV vs Synthetic (Green) Gasoline? (1 Viewer)

[Grayscale]

EV will always be an energy hog due to added vehicle weight, who cares if it is sustainable or not, it is wasteful. Also, the important equipment is obsolete almost immediately, as an old gas engine from fifty-years-ago is still good to go, but, old batteries are unsafe and must be replaced, before they break. They weigh too much to handle the road the way that most people like to drive (for example, the Hummer battery weighs more than my entire pickup, so it drives like your hauling concrete), they become a mini-volcano upon failure (fire), and, despite the hype, essentially no one in my (affluent and 'green') town is drilling holes in their home's roof for solar panels installation in 2022. Solar isn't keeping up with running our laundry, so why bother with using it for transportation? Chevy recalled the Bolt at unprecedented expense. Money isn't green, yet. Besides, a charging cable is a tripping hazard, and no one wants booms or gantry type overhead charging equipment to clutter the street or driveway, you'd never get the permit in my city. I'd not want to charge a car in my wood frame garage. Lithium mining is a complete environmental mess.

If only people knew that most (mass) of the chemical energy that runs a gas or diesel engine is the air surrounding it - look up the stoichiometric ratio of air to gasoline. Fourteen + lbs of atmosphere is burnt for every lbs of gasoline, which makes the fuel tank really efficient at about 100lbs of gasoline when full.

Here is an example of green gasoline:

Haru Oni: A new age of discovery

Exploring the future of fuel from wind and water.

www.siemens-energy.com

 

[YezusLX]

This is such a sincerely dangerous topic to even begin a reasonable discussion. But I like to live dangerously.

That being said. I wish that Toyota would begin a sincere Hydrogen marketing campaign. This would make the current Toyota hydrogen fleet more mainstream. Perhaps it is because it would rival the Prius for sales numbers and damage their ESG score with the W.E.F. Since Seimens is their darling I get their campaign for more "green" fuels. However, Hydrogen is a byproduct of the nuclear fission process during power generation and is usually wasted or burned. When power usage is down in the evenings or weekends and the plants themselves turn down output this can be recouped and saved for vehicle use. Since it's nearly free to produce the cost is minimal for consumers and the exhaust is H2O. Making this a truly "green" fuel less harmful by all the made-up standards.

Before I am accused of inserting politics into a discussion I just want someone to check my thought process and make sure I am not espousing any green or political propaganda when it comes to a sustainable solution. I do think hydrogen would be a better solution than gasoline but without more development, it currently is not. Dialogue and discourse are hallmarks of achieving a solution. Not outright dismissal or discounting someone's idea no matter how ridiculous.

Toyota Developing Hydrogen Engine Technologies Through Motorsports | Corporate | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced today that, toward the achievement of a carbon-neutral mobility society, it is developing a hydrogen engine. It has installed the engine on a racing vehicle based on Toyota's Corolla Sport, which it will enter in competition under the ORC ROOKIE Racing...

global.toyota

Hydrogen Production and Uses - World Nuclear Association

Hydrogen is widely seen as a future transport fuel, In the short term, hybrid electric vehicles have potential to increase the demand for base-load power from grid systems. The use of hydrogen in the production of transport fuels from crude oil is increasing rapidly. Nuclear energy can be used...

www.world-nuclear.org

 

[Grayscale]

No room for hydrogen? Stick with synth gas or alcohol.

If synth oil can be a few bucks more than mineral oil, why not synth gas or alcohol? Hydrogen makes as much sense as wood-gas for me.

 

[YezusLX]

No room for hydrogen? Stick with synth gas or alcohol.

If synth oil can be a few bucks more than mineral oil, why not synth gas or alcohol? Hydrogen makes as much sense as wood-gas for me.

I watched this video and this man does an excellent job of breaking down the challenges required in order to solve the problem. As a fan of the ICE, I don't see the need currently for a replacement. However, I think that if our overlords do force us to change for whatever their reasons might be, I think that hydrogen is a much more viable and environmentally friendly option. Storage, cooling, and the other things mentioned in this video can be the impetus that spurs the imagination and fuels the creativity that could potentially make it more of a viable option. Thanks for sharing this! That is awesome stuff. You are right though alcohol and/or gasoline are still unmatched in overall fun factor and efficiency.

 

[Grayscale]

I think we need two types of vehicles. Something under 3K lbs for everyday, short-range. I'd argue forever that inexpensive is 'green.' But, just stop trying to do long-range, passengers, towing, cargo space, all on a basic auto platform. If you could just carry a small battery or hydrogen tank, you'd build a much better chunk of metal to navigate on slippery asphalt without messing up the shape (hydrogen) or suspension (ev battery mass). Gasoline wins for efficiency - it burns the air that is already everywhere. Then there is something like a 4Runner to do everything else, problem is doing the math bill for two automobiles is crazy sounding.

The bigger problem is that automobiles really need to loose some weight if you are going 'green.' Now we have household names in engineering. Usually some dude with a cult-following - you know who I'm talking about. But most of the technology is still basically fictional. They are trying to do too much work (moving weight and negotiating red-light stop-go) for the very impressive resources involved.

My 3,000k pickup from '85 gets almost the same gas mileage (EPA rating is less than my odometer/fuel bill) as a similar weight 2022 Subaru Crosstrek, so I'm not buying into the whole we've made the ICE better. You could build two '85 pickups for the money it takes to pay for a modern wiring harness. I know it isn't fair because I don't have air conditioning, and the Suburu is six-speed, and mine is five, but still the efficiency of getting from place to place hasn't improved, just the horsepower and torque available to make it more enjoyable.

I'm sticking with gas and a bicycle - best all-time, and all-around combo.

 

[White Stripe]

I would like to see a hydrogen/gasoline hybrid. A simple injector in the intake for hydrogen that is primarily used for idling and highway cruise, the gasoline used for acceleration and heavier use scenarios. I would think that would decrease emissions a great deal and coud probably added to most older ICE vehicles. I would also like the exhaust heat used somehow with greater purpose. As far as electric cars, I think battery sizes should be standardized just as auto 12v batteries are. They should be able to be exchanged quickly for fully charged ones just like in a RC car.

New internal combustion engine design produces zero harmful emissions

Researchers from Valencia’s Polytechnic University (UPV) have designed a new internal combustion engine (ICE) that does not generate carbon dioxide and other gases that are harmful to people’s health.

eandt.theiet.org

 

[Grayscale]

I like Jay Leno's ride antique hybrid with the Optima upgrade. There are big advantages with a non-geared, electric/magnetic transmission! Forget the powerplant/green initiative for a moment. Potentially, the ICE needs not so much performance (torque/hp) to do the same work if you have a small battery reserve and a torque monster of a transmission (just for acceleration - not for long-distance hauls). Plus, you don't need to have such a stiff suspension system / handling to carry the extra density of the same set-up of a lithium-battery-vehicle. This is the same technology that powers diesel trains, navy ships? I love non-specific batteries, just like a RC!

 

[Grayscale]

We need to reward auto companies that come up with more-not-on-board-tech. Like if OEMs could design an engine compartment that is so thermally correct, it can compete with port injection systems but employ an $80 carb from Amazon? Careful engineering with thermal imaging could be a serious reward!

They already had a solenoid-enrichment-circuit controlled by O2 sensor and ECM on late carbs, some enhancements could also include choke breaker vacuum variable adjustment, and ECM-controlled current to the automatic choke breaker (so that in summer you get your rpms down at a progressive rate). Imagine purchasing a vehicle with lawn-mower simplicity, but, is optimized without extra technology that is actually kept on-board?

I keep thinking that modern tech could even detect misfire by reading the voltage pattern on the coil. A tool from HF can tell you if your dwell angle is off, and your timing is off. I figure that something really 2022-simple could tell the driver to check plug no.5 if it is fouled, and clear skies would be the reward, and we are talking about an antique vehicle here. Having a double-ignition system (two plugs per cylinder, one intake side, one exhaust side) allows the vehicle to use one flame-front to keep the other from getting black with carbon misfire, but, they went with complex injection systems that are better off just replacing with a new automobile than fixing. I can't imagine how a $3,000 cat converter (often found missing) would ever be 'green,' but, that is the logic and attitude that we are up against here.