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Ultra-Efficient Gas Engine Passes Test

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by ggood, Mar 8, 2010.

  1. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Technology Review: Ultra-Efficient Gas Engine Passes Test

    Transonic Combustion, a startup based in Camarillo, TX, has developed a fuel-injection system it says can improve the efficiency of gasoline engines by more than 50 percent. A test vehicle equipped with the technology gets 64 miles per gallon in highway driving, which is far better than more costly gas-electric hybrids, such as the Prius, which gets 48 miles per gallon on the highway.
     
    #1 ggood, Mar 8, 2010
  2. Politburo

    Politburo Active Member

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    Important details are never in the 1st paragraph..

    "The company also treats the gasoline with a catalyst that "activates" it, partially oxidizing it to enhance combustion."

    This is really a publication of MIT? It reads like a press release. I'm not saying the technology isn't real, but it still smells like vaporware to me.
     
    #2 Politburo, Mar 8, 2010
  3. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    Jeez, they make "the Prius, which gets 48 miles per gallon on the highway" sound so dirty. Is it me or does it sound like a little bit of Prius-bashing? It's kind of odd that they picked on the Prius....Why didn't they use a Ford Fusion Hybrid for comparison???
     
    #3 bighouse, Mar 8, 2010
  4. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Well, I was trying to stick to fair use rules of this forum, but here's the full 2nd paragraph:

    "The key is heating and pressurizing gasoline before injecting it into the combustion chamber, says Mike Rocke, Transonic's vice president of business development. This puts it into a supercritical state that allows for very fast and clean combustion, which in turn decreases the amount of fuel needed to propel a vehicle. The company also treats the gasoline with a catalyst that "activates" it, partially oxidizing it to enhance combustion."

    The rest of the article seems to make clear that this is in actual testing. Anything that might make a good thing better is fine by me.
     
    #4 ggood, Mar 8, 2010
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