Blue Marble Oils - Technical Discussion

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TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

August 23, 2006

C. Edward Baxter, Jr.

Energy, Work and Power in Two Cycle Engines

Objectives

Following is a brief discussion of energy, heat and work as pertains to two cycle engines operating on Blue Marble HP.  With this discussion I hope to answer;

1.         Why does the exhaust temperature go down when Blue Marble HP is mixed with the fuel? This temperature drop seems counter-intuitive in face of the facts that Envirofuels technology in Blue Marble HP increases the heat release and heat release rate (as measured by IQT) of the fuel

2.         What is the mechanism of the fuel economy increase?

3.         What is mechanism of emissions reductions?

4.         What is mechanism of wear reduction?

Engine Thermodynamics

Energy is defined as the product of mass times velocity of the mass squared and can be written as E = m * v². The units of energy are therefore kg *(meter/sec) ² = joules.

Energy of a system is comprised of two components; heat (H) and work (W). Since heat and work are just different forms of energy, they both have the energy units of joules. 

Energy can be converted from one form to another. However, by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, each time energy is converted from one form to another some of the energy is always degraded to a lower-quality, more dispersed, less useful form. In other words, no system can convert energy from one form to another useful form with 100% efficiency.

In an internal combustion (IC) engine, such as a two cycle gasoline engine, the chemical energy contained in the fuel is converted into mechanical energy. The mechanical energy of the engine is the work done by the expanding combustion gases to cause a displacement of the piston. Since by the Second Law of Thermodynamics no energy conversion can be 100% efficient, some of the chemical energy of the fuel is lost to heat.

It therefore follows, that in an IC engine, the more energy converted to useful work the less energy available to heat up the combustion gases. In other words, increasing the amount of useful work derived from the fuel combustion results in a concomitant decrease in the combustion chamber and exhaust temperatures.

The ratio of the work done to the total amount of energy available from the fuel combustion to do work is the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine. The more chemical energy converted to useful work, the higher the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine.

Thermodynamic efficiencies of typical two cycle engines are in the range of about 35 - 45%. So there is considerable room for improvement which could be manifested as fuel economy and emissions reductions. As I point out below, just simply causing more fuel to burn alone can not account for the fuel efficiency improvements seen with Blue Marble HP treated fuel.

Thermodynamic efficiency of an engine is dependent on several factors including (1) engine design, (2) energy content of the fuel and (3) difference between the temperature of the combustion event and ambient temperature. Actually (3) is essentially a constant since the difference between temperature of the hydrocarbon fuel combustion and the normal ambient temperature is roughly a constant. Therefore (3) limits the maximum thermodynamic efficiency of an IC engine burning hydrocarbon fuel in normal climates on earth.

Fuel Economy Benefits of Blue Marble HP

The fuel economy benefit realized from Blue Marble HP comes from two sources, (1) an actual increase in the amount of fuel burned and, more importantly, (2) an increase in the amount of work done by the fuel combustion relative to the amount of energy lost to heat; in other words increasing the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine.

The technology contained in Blue Marble HP acts as a combustion catalyst and lowers the energy of activation for combustion which allows more of the fuel to be burned under the same conditions.

However, the real fuel economy gains with Blue Marble HP come from improving the efficiency of the actual combustion event; in effect improving the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine. Blue Marble HP causes the combustion to be sharper and more focused occurring over a narrower time frame. This allows more of the combustion energy to be available at the precise time needed to optimally drive the piston. Therefore, more of the chemical energy of the fuel is converted to work and less of the energy is lost as heat. This increase in the amount of work done is therefore accompanied by a reduction in the combustion chamber and exhaust temperatures.

Conversely if the energy of combustion is released over longer time intervals some of the fuel energy may not be available to do work and will be lost as heat.

Blue Marble HP also increases the maximum heat release rate. Some would argue that increasing the maximum heat release rate could indicate a potential to increase NOx. However, because more of the energy is available to do work and not lost as heat, the combustion zone temperature drops and thus does not portend an increase in NOx.

The increases in heat release rate, which is work per unit time, is also indicative of the potential for power increases since power is defined as work per unit time.

Emissions Reductions with Blue Marble HP

Whereas the fuel efficiency gains from Blue Marble HP comes from increasing the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine, the improvement in emissions, particularly THC and PM, obtained from burning Blue Marble HP treated fuel, does come from increasing the total amount of fuel combusted. In addition, PM is probably also decreased through a Blue Marble HP surface conversion mechanism preventing fuel from decomposing and coking on the surface of the combustion chamber.

Reduction in CO is also related to combusting the fuel more completely. CO is caused by incomplete combustion. Blue Marble HP causes more of the CO to be converted to CO2.

CO2 is only reduced because of improved fuel economy. CO2 reductions are seen at constant power settings when less fuel is combusted to give the same amount of power. CO2 reductions are, therefore, directly proportional to fuel economy.

Reductions in Friction and Wear with Blue Marble HP

The technology in Blue Marble HP, in addition to being a combustion catalyst and modifier, can react with the metal parts of the engine that are in contact with the fuel (containing Blue Marble HP). This reaction forms a surface in which the first 100-200 Angstroms of the metal surface are converted to composition that reduces the friction between the metal wear surfaces.

The reduction in friction provided by Blue Marble HP improves component life, can reduce operating temperatures, improve fuel economy and because of the reduced temperature can aid in emissions reduction.

The conversion layer, provided by Blue Marble HP, has a high degree of thermal reflectivity and also works to improve combustion and reduce emissions.

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