Ethanol Carbon Footprint With Diesel Efficiency?

Biofuels may just be a transitional technology - by the time affordable battery electric vehicles and fuel cell cars come out, we may no longer need them. But biofuels are developing, too, and as they improve, they present themselves as a better way to "green the masses".

Ricardo, an international automotive engineering design firm, has designed a technology that allows engines powered by ethanol to approach levels of efficiency hitherto only afforded to diesel engines, wiping the floor with poor gasoline engine efficiency. It's called by it's acronym "EBDI" or ethanol boosted direct injection. The thing about ethanol is that it has subtly different properties to gasoline, which manufacturers have been slow to exploit. For example, it is a higher octane fuel, and has a higher heat of vapourisation.

Rather than taking a "performance hit" of approximately 30% as many so-called "flex fuel" cars do, EBDI capitalises on the differences in the fuel properties. In part the technology works by using higher levels of turbocharging than would be possible in a conventional petrol engine - forcing extra air into the cylinder, creating a denser charge. It also uses the best of current gasoline engine technology - direct injection, variable valve timing and optimised ignition. The prototype engine is a 3.2L V6. Whilst it's only a temporary solution, any technologies that can help us minimise carbon emissions whilst we transition to alow carbon alternatives is a welcome development.