SD Science Junction

*** Exploit Ethanol advantages in engines designed for the high Octane Fuel

I suspect every real scientist is aware of the advantages of ethanol as a fuel, but also the disadvantage that by weight, ethanol has only about 66% as much energy as does gasoline. Alcohol does have the advantage of a 100 Octane however and that allows higher compression engines and relatively high turbo boost pressures.

Recently on Dakota Midday at SDPB-Radio, "Bob" the Caller, made it seem that ethanol was some kind of devil's plot because he could not run it in his old motorcycles or if he did he got reduced mileages.  He kept ranting until it appeared he was saying that ethanol had negative energy since he claimed more gasoline would be needed with the more alcohol used.  This is total nonsense even if alcohol used with lower compression ratios has only 66% of the energy of gasoline.

Yesterday, I read an article in CAR AND DRIVER titled too cutely "Driving under the Influence".  Even so, it has interesting information and history.  Take a look at an image of the page below.  Click on it for a larger version.

Click for larger more readable version.  Sized to print well on lettersize paper.

We in South Dakota already produce ethanol, and can produce methanol using our stranded wind energy.  Research and development or intelligent tinkering with existing engines to run optimally with alcohol would seem to be in the interests of the South Dakota economic development.  SDSM&T Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry Departments and the same at SDSU might think about some research projects for students using the ideas suggested in the CAR AND DRIVER article.  Get Car and Driver

-------- Written by Doug Wiken with information from Car and Driver Magazine.

*** Butanol, ethanol, methanol, etc

NPR Science Friday (Sept 2, 2011) just interviewed David Mullin of Tulane University concerning his research  on using biomass such as newspaper to produce butanol.

Wikipedia on Butanol fuel  has information comparing energy density of fuels and more information on producing such fuel.

Mullin discussed an idea which has seemed to make sense to me for sometime.  Oil refineries such as that planned by Hyperion in South Dakota should have adjacent facilities which might use some of the waste heat energy to speed production of ethanol or butanol.  Getting such arrangements worked out by competing energy systems might only occur if government regulation required it.  Don't hold you breath waiting for South Dakota regulators to do anything that sensible however.

I hope to have more information on this later.  Actually I had more information here and wonderful Typepad decided that it should be deleted.  It has taken to highlighting text by itself which makes a mess of trying to add information and then finding a paragraph of links has been deleted instead.

--- Written (partially finished even) by Douglas Wiken based on NPR Science Friday story

*** Pretty enough to be church windows

A Discovery site has a collection of images of prehistoric (40 million years or more old) feathers captured in amber. The images in the album almost look like photos of stained glass church windows.

Color Images of Dinosaur feathers in Amber  

All seriousness aside, I suspect these images are less likely to appear in church window art than images of St. George slaying dragons. 

Science work is a tool for slaying mythology.

--- written by Doug Wiken with information from DISCOVER and Wikipedia

*** What about 10,000 engineering internships in Obama Jobs speech?

In his recent speech to Congress concerning job growth in the USA, President Obama stated the following:

Already, we’ve mobilized business leaders to train 10,000 American engineers a year, by providing company internships and training. Other businesses are covering tuition for workers who learn new skills at community colleges. And we’re going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes root, not in China or Europe, but right here, in the United States of America. If we provide the right incentives and support — and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules — we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that are sold all over the world. That’s how America can be number one again. That’s how America will be number one again.

I haven't searched for more information on that, but it would seem that might offer some extra opportunity for South Dakota engineering students at SDSM&T and SUSD and also perhaps for companies employing engineers in South Dakota.  If you have more information, let everybody know with a comment.

*** By Douglas Wiken