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To: Slagle who wrote (63985)	5/19/2005 10:27:35 PM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

>>Can Chinese agriculture support a large scale ethanol industry and feed the country too? I thought the North China wheat growing lands were similar to our upper midwest but not as productive due to less fertile soil and a dryer and cooler climate.<< I doubt it. On a per capita basis, the US is in better shape than China for producing bio-fuels. The current corn-based US ethanol production is a joke, because it relies on a lot of fossil-fuel inputs. But cellulose-based ethanol has serious potential. Imagine vast tracts of perennial native switchgrass that does not require energy for annual plowing, seeding and cultivation. Mix in wild legumes to provide nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere, so you don't need artificial fertilizer inputs derived from natural gas. Rely on natural rainfall instead of irrigation. Then convert the plant material to ethanol using enzymes and/or bacteria. For further energy savings, the University of Minnesota is developing a method to run a fuel cell directly from a water/ethanol mix. This would save much of the energy currently wasted in the distillation process to separate ethanol from water. Then burn the fuel in lightweight carbon-fiber vehicles. With the above innovations and a stable population, we might be able to preserve some vestige of our current lifestyle on a sustainable basis.

To: Slagle who wrote (63985)	5/19/2005 10:51:02 PM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

>>IC engine design was a pretty mature technology by the 1930's; very little can be accomplished now in terms of performance or efficiency that couldn't be done in 1935.<< HCCI is a potential new IC technology. It's a way of burning gasoline in an engine that workes like a diesel... HOMOGENEOUS CHARGE COMPRESSION IGNITION (HCCI) futuretruck.calpoly.edu

To: Slagle who wrote (63985)	5/20/2005 12:09:57 AM
From: energyplay	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Lots of incremental advances in IC engines - Much better hi-temp alloys, better spark control systems, air flow sensors, and computer control. Turbochargers and Superchargers were around in the 1930s, but have been further developed. Throw in synthetic oils also to cut friction, allow higher operating temperatures. Selective engine shutdown is pretty large advance that is recent. ******** A US government funded project about 3 years ago had eqivalents to a intermediate size car (Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry) getting 120 to 150 mpg on turbo charged diesels. For motorcycle size vehicle, 350 to 400 mpg should be easy.