Is the time for a new, ecological fuel that is only the mixture of water and alcohol coming?
The attempt to replace fossil fuel with an environmentally friendly alternative is not new; it’s been for years. However, they mysteriously disappeared with their creators.
Now a brilliant team of Israeli engineers announced that they have developed an engine that can be driven by the mixture of water and ethanol. The start-up MayMaan Research LLC, founded by 81-year old veteran engineer Yehuda Shmueli and his two sons, has developed a system to operate a traditional piston engine with a combination of 70% water and 30% ethanol (or any other alcohol), which will make traditional fossil fuel used in cars a thing of the past.
The water mixture is converted into a clean-burning fuel within the engine’s combustion chamber. When combustion occurs, the process pushes the piston down virtually the entire power stroke resulting in a very high torque in a wide range of the engines RPM. The system will be up to 60% more efficient than gasoline or diesel; its cost will be half that of today’s fuels, and, of course, it will emit significantly less carbon dioxide.
The work was carried out for six years in a garage with plans kept under secrecy through the development phase so that no one would steal their perfect idea. “We have stayed under the radar for the past six years, but we decided that this is the right time to expose ourselves and talk to people and let the world know that such a solution exists,” Yehuda Shmueli said in new Jerusalem Post story written in cooperation with MayMaan.
They have also claimed that any car can be tuned with their prototype and modified to fit its specifications, without major changes to the existing fuelling infrastructure. The team has built four operating prototypes to date, including a car, a generator, and various engines.
All this sounds very good, but there are very little details about this technology on both the Jerusalem Post story and the company’s website.
Also, the description in the patent application for the system says, “The combustion chamber receives a mixture of air, hydrogen and a liquid fuel consisting essentially of water and a flammable, preferably non-fossil, substance. The contents of the combustion chamber are ignited, generating power.”
So, the system might need some more development before promoting it as the most efficient and cleanest alternative fuel of the future. Hopefully, this initiative, if completely real, will take shape and can find partners that invest in it.
