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Parag Gupta

May 18, 2016
11:21

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Hello!  I'm Parag Gupta, an MIT Climate CoLab Catalyst.  So, you want another unit to evaluate transportation efficiency?  How do you know it is not already being used in the research and development side of the equation.  Most end users do in fact look at mpg because it's an easy way to compare, and it gets the job done.  Is this really needed?  Have you looked at white papers, etc. that discuss this?  Have you looked at national standards and evaluation metrics from the transportation industry that may already employ such units for their own in-house testing?


Kevin Vonmoses

May 23, 2016
03:38

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Actually the 'standard' is 32mph.

Do not confuse miles per gallon with efficiency...  The common fuel in the 1920's was moonshine alcohol because there were no fuel stations.

When J Paul Getty broke oil into a fraction called 'ethyl', later called gasoline he persuaded the Government to support Prohibition and eliminate alcohol as a competitor...  To the Public he sold ethyl as going twice as far on a tank of fuel, only because it contained twice the Btu's of alcohol, not because it was any more efficient.

 

Alcohol is the only truly renewable fuel, but at 6% average efficiency, (Btu fuel consumed vs Btu Work done) the production of Alcohol cannot keep up with demand.

my proposal would make Alcohol viable as a fuel.


James Lau

May 28, 2016
02:55

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Proposal
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I am pleasantly surprised that this contest entry get some response. As the team name might be a hint that my main effort is to promote OTEC, which is an entry in the energy supply contest. OTEC is the 24/7 renewable energy with capacity to solve both the global energy and warming problem. Store ocean thermal energy is by far the most abundant renewable energy resource on earth. 

I can add more information in this proposal, but I am too lazy to do that before the contest proposal time is up. Fuel energy content is important for practical application. Even when OTEC can supply all the electrical energy need for the world, transportation vehicles still need to carry fuel (energy resource). I am against electric battery as carried energy resource because energy in the pure form is more dangerous than some other form that need some conversion before the energy can be released. Some time ago Boeing 787 and Tesla battery make news to show the danger. OTEC plants in tropical water need to convert the electrical energy into other form for energy users not close to the tropical area. My preference is to use ammonia as the converted liquid fuel. Tankers that transport ammonia to user need to travel less distance than crude oil tankers need to travel.