Diff’rent Strokes

Alternative Power for Automobiles

Matt Merritt

Background: Internal Combustion

• An engine, such as an automotive gasoline or diesel piston engine, in which fuel is burned within the engine rather than in an external furnace, as in a steam engine.

• First design drawn by Christian Huygens in 1680 and used gun powder as fuel.

• Established primary use in automobiles by Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in the late 19th Century.

How It Works

• Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine: 4 stages of movement:

– Intake- fuel is added

– Compression- fuel is compressed

– Combustion- fuel explodes

– Exhaust- burn-off leaves cylinder

Pros and Cons

Pros• Dependable and long-lasting• Already has stations for refueling, no need for upgrades

or brand new pump stations• Relatively inexpensive

Cons• Emissions cause pollution• Very inefficient, only 25-30% average• Rate of consumption of fossil fuels expected to leave oil

reserves dry by the mid 21st Century

Background: Hybrid Engine

• Hybrid engines: Internal combustion engines that utilize electronic motors for improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

• Has been proven to nearly double overall fuel efficiency in automobiles. Cars can get excess of 50 to 60 miles per gallon (mpg)

Pros and Cons

Pros• Much more fuel efficient and emission-less than

conventional engines• Maintains reputation carried over by conventional

engines for reliability

Cons• Many sacrifice power for efficiency, or vice versa• Higher in price• Only certain car companies currently using Hybrids

Background: Hydrogen

• Hydrogen vehicles can be used in a variety of ways– Replace intakes on internal combustion engines to use hydrogen

rather than gasoline– Use hydrogen in cells, much like a battery, to power an electric

motor– Run gasoline through a generator, discharging the carbons and

toxins so that only hydrogen is used and burnt off.

Pros and Cons

Pros• Clean and very efficient• Requires no fossil fuels (unless gasoline is used for

separation of hydrogen)Cons• Production and distribution of hydrogen projected to be

vastly worse on the environment than the production of gas.

• Very inconsistent in reciprocating engines, best used in Wankel Rotary Engine

• Still in development stages

References

• Southern Illinois University

http://www.siu.edu/~autoclub/frange.html• How Stuff Works

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/• National Hydrogen Association

http://www.hydrogenus.com/