Electric Charge Can Increase Fuel Efficiency

Researchers at Temple University have found a way to increase a car’s mileage by 5 to as much as 20 percent – a fuel savings of more than 300 million gasoline barrels and 150 million diesel barrels each year.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on October 07 2008

Whether you’re more concerned with the environment or your checking account, you’d probably prefer to spend as little as you can on buying gas for your car. Now, researchers at Temple University have found a way to increase a car’s mileage by 5 to as much as 20 percent –a fuel savings of more than 300 million gasoline barrels and 150 million diesel barrels each year.

So what’s the secret to their success? A simple jolt of electricity. According to their findings, which will be published in the November 19th issue of Energy & Fuels, creating a small energy field to apply to the fuel before it’s injected, which thins the fuel and creates more droplets to be sprayed into the combustion chamber, is the key to increasing fuel efficiency in any vehicle.

“I think the potential of this idea is outstanding,” Matthew Thomas, a combustion engineer at CFD Research Corporation told Science News. “I think in the next five to 10 years you’re going to see the option for charged fuel injection in automobiles.”

This innovation may seem high-tech, but it comes cheap: the device that generates electric fields costs a mere $50 per cylinder. The lead researcher, Rongjia Tao, is already fielding calls from car manufacturers who are interested in licensing the technology –so the next time you buy a new car, it may already be equipped with its own electric field generator, for mega-mileage on the road.

Filed under: General Interest, Green, Science,

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