U.S. National Research Lab Working On Multi-Fuel 'Omnivore' Engine
By John O'Dell October 20, 2009
Argonne National Laboratory researcher Thomas Wallner explains the R&D center's omnivore engine project.
The nice thing about flex-fuel engines is that if one type of fuel isn't available, the other probably will be.
The not-so-nice thing that automakers with flex-fuels in their lineups don't like to talk about is that they mostly are turned for gasoline, so performance diminishes when ethanol, natural gas or other fuels are used.
The answer maybe the so-called omnivorous engine, set up to burn all kinds of fuels and overseen by a smart engine control unit that changes valve and injection timing and other variables to minimize emissions and maximize performance, and fuel economy, from whatever is exploding down there in the cylinders.
We told you earlier this year about an omnivore that Lotus Engineering in England is working on, one capable of running on most alcohol-based fuel as well as on gasoline.
Now comes word, via this nice little video, that a researcher program at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois has got its own omnivore project underway.
We love to see competition. Good products usually result when more than one R&D effort is under way.
And just imagine what an engine that will run efficiently on just about anything (except diesel) that burns would mean
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"run efficiently on just about anything (except diesel) that burns..."
So, it's not so much an omnivore as it is an optimized flex-fuel engine. Still, all improvements using existing technology are a welcome sight as alternatives to the standard ICE are developed!
A 'selective' omnivore.
nothing really new...at least on diesels. most military Diesels will run on anything thats available - jet fuel etc. The problem with trying to use gas motors for this is they are not going to be physically strong enough to burn the heavier fuels...so its going to be limited in what they can burn.
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