Other fuels and stuff.

[kneegrow]

I was having a think about different things to do with fuelling.

1. With a blown engine, Hydrogen Peroxide injection. This generally undergoes free radical decomposition and has a large oxygen content like water. It would act as a mild octane booster whilst the associated water would act as a coolant to further supress detonation at higher boosts. (This is as a change to water injection).

2. Running a car on Hydrogen Peroxide and Hydrazine as a pseudo 2 stroke with NO carbs and 2 injectors per cylinder. The cam would be set up so that the exhaust valves (both inlet and outlet) are timed to open before BDC. These would both be exhausts (because you would need it) my logic being that Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and Hydrazine (N2H2) would be injectable where upon they would instantly react forming Nitrogen and 2 lots of steam at very high temperature. As the power strokes are doubled, the engine could be made to produce serious welly. In fact easily class winning welly. PLUS the products of combustion are completely eco-friendly).

They are the 2 points I am interested in discussing.
However I have a few more mad ideas about octane boosters/shed made avgas, etc.

What do you think? stu

[kneegrow]

Ok, will do. I thought that Hydrazine/Hydrogen Peroxide was one of the most exothermic reactions per volume of stuff. Do you have any references for the alternative fuel stuff. Sod it being expensive. Make it in the shed!!!!

stu (will be back with some more ideas)

[kneegrow]

I would be stoked if you could find some info as all I could find were Nitro/Methanol mix stuff.

I would also be interested in contacting anyone who knows a fuels chemist.......(I'm a chemist too)

stu

[kneegrow]

I think there is a catch. Benzene/Toluene/Xylene are often quoted in books as being 118 octane. I think this is RON instead of MON. I know for one it kills leaded fuels performance as does unleaded (contains benzene). What we need are "Paraffinic" petrols (LRP) to start leading. Do we have those in the UK? My thought so far have been taking the benzene out of unleaded for my "shed leaded" or using "brush thinners" for an "aromatic brew" this is the Toluene/xylene mix which is discoloured, hence cheap. I have no recollection which book it is in but I think the Paint Thinners as an octane booster isn't quite as great.........do carry on.

Anyone know where I can get some good books on fuels. I have yet to find one and have looked bigtime.

I was toying with the idea of using dissolved low volume polystyrene in de-benzened unleaded at about 1:4. A couple of trials on "the donk" seemed to pay off quite well. I was trying to get my head around running high carbon fuels with an extra oxygen source, hydrogen peroxide or NOS. Seeing how that went.

The point being, there must be an achievable, cheap additive to fuel to enable more power to be developed. Forget paying over the odds for race fuel!!

Hopefully I will have a good engine/water dyno set up soon to try ideas.
stu

[kneegrow]

Well, I think the aromatics delocalise the free radicals which are formed when TEL breaks down. This means that the time of the reactions caused by their presence are longer hence the stuff is less significant. I think the TEL breaks down into 4 ethyl radicals which each start a free radical decomposition of the fuel molecules which react with the oxygen more readily. I have also heard that lead helps smooth the flamefront and causes the stuff to burn more thoroughly and slower (less explosively, which is a good thing). The lead itself is liable to react with products unless a "mopper upper" is there. These products clog up the valves and cause mayhem. Ethylene Dibromide is used to form Lead Bromide which then exits via vapour from the engine. The big product on the market is "Tetraboost" which allegedly consists of TEL in a solution of "Aromatic Hydrocarbons" I find this very strange. I wonder if they have thought it through. They call octane results above 100 MON "Performance Numbers" and I quote an old book calling this "Lead Response" (probably an old term) Aromatics are said to reduce the "Lead Response" hence.........

Iso-octane (cant remember the IUPAC name) is the best stuff for lead response and I think you can get 160 octane with 4% TEL/EDB added. That is as good as it gets.

I had a read somewhere about drag fuels and the problem is the combustion products/space getting too hot. The alcohol burns cool and the explosive (Nitro Methane) burns hot. I suppose there is a limit to this as you will always have to quench the heat of an improved explosive. So dragsters are running on the limit of the engines reliability with their fuels and can quite easily go over it with 'Nitro' and so there isn't much point in researching anything else right now.

However, Nitromethane doesn't do storage and so it might be worth looking at something which does. Picric acid for instance. (Might make some gnarly salts with tank/carb components though)Picric acid is also pretty straight forward to make. As for people running cubane and things like that, I assume this is just for some bizzare straight hydrocarbon contest as you would be able to achieve very similar results to that of nitro.

I am primarily concerned with something I can make in my shed. TEL/EDB is possible allthough I haven't managed to get my own glassware at the moment. The recipe is pretty straight forward. You make a sodium lead alloy and then react that with chloroethane. (Sodium electrolysed from salt) Chloroethane is a common refridgerant (was). The ethylene dibromide is more complicated. I havent thought about the synthesis yet. Might involve acetylene. As an inorganic chemist it has been a while since I played with all things carbon based.

stu