El Sid's Green Space
Better Engines
Coates Rotary Valves Prototype Bourke Engine
A picture of eight Coates spherical valves on one bank of a V-8 engine is shown above. The valves were manufactured in New Jersey. The valves are colored red for exhaust and blue for inlet air/fuel mixture. These valves allow less restricted airflow into and out of each combustion chamber. Because they revolve with little friction, they require less power to drive them. This improves fuel economy. Their use of fewer parts translates into giving a more reliable performance with less maintenance.
They have a self-lubricating design. This eliminates the need for oil and thus eliminates entrance of oil into the combustion
chamber through the valves. This reduces the need for pollution control devices. Engines with the Coates valve system have been used to power cars, motorcycles, and also to generate electricity. The valves can be used on small or large engines.
George J. Coates, President and inventor of the Coates Technology asked what could be done to build a better engine? He did it. The North Jersey Section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, named him an "Engineer of the Year" in recognition of his achievement. We need more of this kind of thinking to rejuvenate the U.S. auto industry.
Why aren't more American auto engines built this way? Tradition. It is tough to accept the discomfort of someone else having a better idea. Then too, change is very stressful to many folks, even change for the better. There is also the issue of costly retooling. Even more than that is the matter of attitude.
El Sid went to Washington, D.C. to urge support for better, cleaner, and safer sources of energy. He sat with an aide to his Congress member. That gave an insight as to why the American automobile industry is in such deep trouble today. This aide worked on government standards to improve automotive fuel economy. All American car manufacturers wailed that they
could not meet improved performance. In sharp contrast, Japanese manufacturers asked, "What can we do to meet your requirements?" Staying with obsolete designs cost American car makers more than the cost of tooling.
Other inventors have come up with new concepts. The Bourke engine is pictured above. It is only one example. Russ Bourke created a two-cylinder engine claimed to burn fuel so efficiently that it doesn't need pollution controls. It was said to be good for hybrid cars, electric generators, marine engines, and light aircraft. It is an opportunity that may have been overlooked without good cause.
Diesel engines (compression ignition engines) are more efficient than common spark plug ignition engines. Diesels of the past produced too much pollution. Thanks to the effort of the U.S. EPA, improvements have been made since the early 1990's, cleaning up diesels. The emissions of a 2010 diesel engine are targeted to reduce pollution 96% from the early 1960's level. Further, diesel engines don't have to burn petroleum diesel fuel. Instead, they can burn a fuel derived from vegetable oil called Biodiesel fuel from soy beans. Dr. Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine used vegetable oil or coal
dust as a fuel for his early engines.
There are other ways of getting better automobiles. The new breed of hybrid vehicles get improved fuel economy. The 2009 Toyota Prius advertised a fuel economy of 45 to 48 miles per gallon. The Rocky Mountain Institute reported that we can do much better than that. The Institute theorized that it is ultimately possible to get more than 150 miles per gallon on a greatly improved hybrid. The Institute said that key technologies to accomplish that exist but need to be applied. If ignored, or treated as a threat to the status quo, a non-American super-car would sock another crippling blow to the
American automobile industry.
Having designed fuel cells, El Sid is thrilled that new cars with fuel cells are being tested. Fuel cells generate electricity from the interaction of hydrogen and air in the presence of a catalyst. The electricity provides power for an electric motor. The effluent is water, if a source of pure hydrogen is used.
BMW built a fleet of hydrogen-powered cars with hydrogen internal combustion engines. Norway plans to build a stretch of highway that will supply hydrogen fueling stations along the way.
There are many ways can-do engineers will give us a better world if we let them. Politicians who impede real progress for the worst of reasons, too often set energy priorities.
One improvement is deceptively simple. Look underneath typical cars. Instead of a streamlined bottom surface, you will see a hodgepodge of irregular shapes. As the car speeds along, these irregularities create turbulence, adding drag to the vehicle. This subtracts from fuel economy.
More info about the Coates Engine - http://www.coatesengine.com
OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
Natural Resources Defense Council - http://www.nrdc.org/
Union of Concerned Scientists - http://www.ucsusa.org/
Nuclear Information and Resource Service - http://www.nirs.org/
Sierra Club - http://www.Sierra Club.org/
Beyond Nuclear - http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
Wiser Earth - http://www.wiserearth.org/
Riverkeeper - http://www.riverkeeper.org/
Unplug Salem - http:www.unplugsalem.org/
Solar Discounts from group purchashing - http://www.1bog.org/
Environmental Defense Fund - http://www.fightglobalwarming.org/
League of Conservation Voters - www.lcv.org
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Video (1) made by a Facebook friend
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Video (2) made by a Facebook friend
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Nukes set to music – Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEGzPb09y2U
Video - Energy Matters - part 1 - El Sid on this video
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