Java traveling guide

Driving with car in Indonesia is more happyly than in other countries, and despite recent fare hikes gas remains cheap (fixed price for gasoline is Rp 4500/litre and price of diesel fuel is Rp 4300/litre). To drive a car yourself, an International Driver Permit is required, but it is strongly recommended that if you want to consider renting a car with driver, because the additional cost is quite low and having a traffic accident in Indonesia will certainly spoil your trip.

some of road condition and road maintenance in Indonesia is like village road. If you go outside major cities, you should use a four-wheel drive car (Kijang jeeps are popular). During rainy season, major roads in java are flooded for several weeks.

Traffic moves on the left in Indonesia,be careful. the highway in java more busy than other places, coz traffic jammed is happens everyday.

The rush hour is happens at 06.30 - 08.00 and 16.00 - 18.00. so please be carefully when driving in java,indonesia.

V8 Engine

The V8 with a crossplane crankshaft (see below) is a very common configuration for large automobile engines. V8 engines are rarely less than 3.0 L (183 cu in) in displacement and in automobile use have gone up to and beyond 8.2 L (500 cu in) in production vehicles. Industrial and marine V8 engines can be much larger.

V8s are generally only standard on more powerful muscle cars, pony cars, sports cars, luxury cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs. However they are often optional on vehicles which have a V6 or straight-6 as standard engine. In many cases, V6 engines were derived from V8 designs by removing two cylinders without changing the V-angle so they can be built on the same assembly lines as the V8s and installed in the same engine compartments with few modifications.

The traditional 90° big-bore V8 engine is generally too wide and too long to fit easily in vehicles with a transverse engine front-wheel drive layout, so its application is mostly limited to rear-wheel drive sports cars, muscle cars, pony cars, luxury cars and light trucks. The shorter and occasionally narrower V6 engine is easier to fit in small engine compartments, but a few compact V8 engines have been used in transverse FWD and transverse AWD engine configurations in larger cars, such as Cadillacs and Volvos. These engines often have tighter cylinder bore spacings, narrower cylinder bank angles, and other modifications to reduce their space requirements.

V8s are common in purpose-designed engines for racing cars. They usually have flat-plane crankshafts, since a crossplane crankshaft results in uneven firing into the exhaust manifolds which interferes with engine tuning, and the heavy crankshaft counterweights prevent the engine from accelerating rapidly. They are a common engine configuration in the highest echelons of motorsport, especially in the USA where it is required in IRL, ChampCar and NASCAR. V8 engines are also used in Australian motorsport, most notably in the V8 Supercars . Formula One began the 2006 season using naturally aspirated 2.4 L (~146 cu in) V8 engines, which replaced the 3.0 L (~183 cu in) V10 in a move to reduce costs and power.

Heavy trucks and railroad locomotives tend to use the straight-6 configuration since it is simpler and easier to maintain, and since the straight-6 is an inherently balanced layout which can be scaled up to almost any size necessary. Large V8s are found in the larger truck and industrial equipment lines, however.

Although it was an early choice for airplane engines, the V8 engine is seldom used in modern aircraft engine since the typically heavy crankshaft counterweights are a liability. Modern light planes commonly use the flat-8 configuration instead since it is lighter and easier to air cool, in addition to which it can be manufactured in modular designs sharing components with flat-4 and flat-6 engines.


from: wikipedia

How are auto insurance rates determined?

The auto insurance rates are determined by a number of factors. In some of the states, the state’s insurance commission that regulates the auto insurance carriers set the auto insurance rates. In other states, there are various factors that influence the auto insurance rates. Prior to buying auto insurance, it is best to compare rates offered by different insurance carriers so that you are in a position to settle for a good deal. A good deal means your auto insurance policy should provide adequate coverage and do justice to the amount you shell out as premium.

The factors that determine the auto insurance rates are as follows –

1. Model of the car

If you are driving a vehicle that is very expensive, you have to pay more as premium. If your expense involved in repairing your car is astronomical, your premium will also be higher.

2. Gender

Male drivers have to pay more as auto insurance premium as compared to female drivers because females are less prone to accidents.

3. How do you use your car?

The more you use the car, higher will be the auto insurance premium that you will have to pay.

4. Drivers’ age

If you are below 25 years and above 65 years, you are more prone to accidents and this makes your auto insurance premium escalate.

5. Driving record

You must have a sound driving record and have less number of speeding tickets to your credit. You must have also violated driving rules less. Under such circumstances, you can demand an auto insurance premium that is less.

6. Previous claims

Your auto insurance carrier will find out whether you have made any claims before. If it is found that you have made claims before and you were responsible for the accidents, you will be considered as a high risk driver. As such, you will have to pay higher auto insurance premium.

7. Place where you reside

If you reside in a congested area or at a place where crime rate is high, chances of theft becomes higher. As such the amount you pay as premium also increases manifold.

8. Type of coverage

It is mandatory to have liability coverage but if you want to avail more coverage than this, you will have to pay more. Collision, fire, theft, vandalism etc are some of the options you can avail.

9. Deductibles

Paying higher deductibles will ensure that you pay less in auto insurance premium.

Following the credit crunch, a lot of anomalous activities have been reported in the auto insurance industry. The incidence of Barbecuing a Beamer, a common form of insurance fraud has increased over the months. In this the owner of the vehicle intentionally sets the vehicle on fire to claim the compensation.

Reports also suggest that owing to the credit crisis, more and more people are compromising on auto insurance coverage to save costs. This in turn is extending inadequate coverage to the auto insurance policyholders.


from my friend doroty....

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost refers both to a car model and to one specific car from that series.

Originally named the "40/50 h.p." the chassis was originally produced at Royce's Manchester works moving to Derby in July 1908 and between 1921 and 1926 at Springfield, Massachusetts factories. Chassis no. 60551, registered AX 201, was the car that was originally given the name "Silver Ghost." Other 40/50 hp cars were also given names but the Silver Ghost title was taken up by the press and soon all 40/50s were called by the name, a fact not officially recognised by Rolls-Royce until 1925 when the Phantom range was launched.

The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royce's claim of making the "Best car in the world" – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the prestigious publication Autocar in 1907.

The chassis and engine were also used as the basis of a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars.

In 1907 the Commercial Managing Director, Mr Claude Johnson (often described as the hyphen in "Rolls-Royce"), ordered a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company. With chassis no. 60551 and registered AX 201, it was the 12th 40/50 hp to be made, and was painted in aluminium paint with silver-plated fittings. The car was named the "Silver Ghost" to emphasise its ghost-like quietness, and a plaque bearing this name adorned the bulkhead. An open-top body by coachbuilder Barker was fitted, and the car readied for the Scottish reliability trials of 1907 and, immediately afterwards, another 15,000-mile (24,000 km) test which included driving between London and Glasgow 27 times.

The aim was to raise public awareness of the new company and to show the reliability and quietness of their new car. This was a risky idea: cars of this time were notoriously unreliable, and roads of the day could be horrendous. Nevertheless, the car set off on trials, and with press aboard, broke record upon record. Even after 7,000 miles (11,000 km), the cost to service the car was a negligible £2 2s 7d (£2.13). The reputation of the 40/50, and Rolls-Royce, was established.

AX201 was sold in 1908 to a private customer and recovered by the company in 1948. Since then, it has been used as a publicity car and travelled worldwide. In 1989, the car was restored by SC Gordon Coachbuilders Luton, and P&A Wood, London, UK. It is now owned by Bentley Motors.

In 1984, the car was photographed in great detail whilst in storage in Luton by precision model makers Franklin Mint. This went on to become one of their best selling products.

The Silver Ghost is considered the most valuable car in the world; in 2005 its insured value was placed at USD$35 million.

from:wikipedia.org

Green Car

According to GreenerCars.com (owned by American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy or ACEEE), the top 6 current positions for the greenest cars are held by Honda and Toyota:

1. HONDA CIVIC GX
2. HONDA INSIGHT
3. TOYOTA PRIUS
4. HONDA CIVIC HYBRID
5. TOYOTA COROLLA
6. TOYOTA ECHO

The autos include partial zero-emission vehicles (PZEV) and super-ultra-low-emission vehicles (SULEV). According to American Automobile Association's Westways magazine, the following vehicles qualify as PZEV vehicles: Ford Focus 2.3-liter, Honda Civic Hybrid, Hundai Elantra, Mazda3, Toyota Prius and Volkswagen Jetta sedan.

The cleanest of the clean cars are the electric cars and hydrogen cars as they emit zero pollutants. Next come the natural gas and hybrid vehicles, which are the next best thing to zero emissions. Ford and Chevrolet have all rolled out their own lines of trucks and SUV's that are clean burning hybrid gasoline / electric models as well.

What is clear is that with rising gas prices and vehicles that have backslid on gas mileage to the levels of the early 1980's and the general acceptance that global warming is a reality, green cars are here to stay. With any luck, we will no longer backslide as we have been doing for the past 25 years but will go forward with ever greener vehicles from here on out.

get from:hydrogencarsnow.com

5 Best Electric Vehicle

Here are five popular vehicles (my version) that used car class of truly green cars provides..

ZENN.

ZENN Motor Company calls its attractive three door hatchback, the ZENN (Zero Emissions No Noise), "the earth's favorite car." This electric car is sourced as a "glider" - a rolling vehicle without a powertrain - from Microcar of Europe. ZENN creates its zero emission NEV by fitting it with electric drive components and batteries. The ZENN features an automotive style alloy space frame and resilient ABS body panels. Standard four-wheel discs are accompanied by regenerative braking, a feature that recaptures energy to help recharge the batteries. Drivers get a very functional two seat hatchback that offers 13 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats. ZENNs are available for $14,700-$15,575.

MILES ZX40.

Miles Electric Vehicles offers the four door ZX40 in three different models. The base ZX40 is propelled by a 4 kW (9 kW peak) DC electric motor, while the ZX40S has a more powerful 6.3 kW (17.6 kW peak) DC motor. For maximum performance, the Miles ZX40S Advanced Design offers a 7.5 kW (26 kW peak) brushless AC induction motor. Absorbed glass mat sealed lead acid batteries are utilized to store electricity. The tall four door wagon seats four and offers 41 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seat folded. Standard features include front and rear defroster, windshield wipers, electric mirrors, and alloy wheels. An AM/FM/CD sound system is optional. Cost is $14,900-$18,900.

DYNASTY iT

British Columbia based Dynasty Electric Cars produces a line of low speed NEVs that includes the iT Sedan, iT Utility (pickup), iT Tropic (topless, no doors), iT Sport (topless, half-doors), and iT Utility (panel). They are built on a 90-inch wheelbase with an overall length of 140 inches. Dynasty uses aluminum for the frame structure with an infusion molded fiberglass body and molded plastic bumpers. Electricity is stored in six EV-31 type flooded lead acid batteries, with Deka gel cell batteries optional. When it's time to plug iT in, an onboard Delta-Q Battery charger tops of the car off in less than 12 hours. Models range from $14,000 to $25,000.

GEM.

Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) is perhaps the best established NEV manufacturer because of its distinction as a Chrysler company. The company's lineup includes a basic two passenger e2 GEM along with a four passenger e4, six passenger e6, and three utility variants with truck beds. While the basic configuration is an open design, optional canvas or hard doors make the vehicle functional in foul weather. The GEM is powered by a 5 horsepower (12 hp peak) DC motor with a 7 horsepower performance package optional on the e2 and e4, and standard on the e6. With a long list of optional equipment, the GEM can be tailored to suit a wide range of applications. GEMs are available from $6,795 to $12,495.

COLUMBIA PARCAR.

Available in two and four passenger configurations and as a utility model with a stake bed, the Columbia ParCar Summit NEV is a highly adaptable platform. Summit's powder coated, high strength alloy tubular steel frame, independent front suspension, rack and pinion steering, and open-air design promises fun low speed mobility. Designed for work, the Mega is a versatile cab-chassis NEV that can be configured in a variety of ways ranging from a pickup bed with fold down sides to a dump bed, van box, and even a refuse container for garbage removal. With a gross weight rating of 2,469 pounds, the Mega can make short work of urban work tasks. Summit NEVs are $9,497-$10,857, with Mega NEV models ranging from $17,900-$23,770.

recreated from todd kaho,greencar.com

Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell

General Motors has been “playing” with hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles since the 1960s. The company’s vintage Electrovan ran—barely—on one massive fuel cell. Thirty-five years later, GM was still at it when it introduced its unique fuel cell architecture that encased the powertrain and energy storage equipment into a thin horizontal layer—dubbed a “skateboard.” This was supposed to signal a possible new approach to engine layout and placement. But GM was forced back to earth when it came time to putting real high-tech rubber on the road. The company left much of its lofty designs in the lab—and created a 100-strong fleet of Chevy Equinox SUVs that run on hydrogen.

This relatively large number of vehicles vaulted GM to the lead in fuel cell vehicles on the road, surpassing Daimler with its 60 F-cells and 30 Citaro buses, and Ford with its 30 Focus FCVs, and Honda with its limited leases of the FCX Clarity—fewer than 10 in the first two months of 2009.

GM chose the Chevroloet Equinox—a car-based SUV or crossover first introduced in 2005 and updated in 2007—as the platform for its first volume run of FCVs. It provides the interior room for four people and enough space to stash the three hydrogen tanks holding the equivalent of 4.2 gallons of gasoline. This provides the vehicle with 160 miles of range—if filled at 10,000 psi. The Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell delivers similar performance to the gasoline version in terms of acceleration, braking and daily driving. The only novelty is that the vehicle runs on hydrogen; and efficiency gets a bump to the equivalent of 43 mpg on hydrogen, about twice that of the gas version.

Almost all manufacturers have active fuel cell/hydrogen programs, but most have vehicle populations in the teens at the most.

from:hybridcars.com

Auto Financing

Making sure to finance a vehicle properly will greatly reduce the cost of your next new or used car. "Auto Financing" is a general term meaning how you pay for the vehicle. In most cases, cars are financed by taking out an auto loan to buy or lease the car. This involves getting a credit check. By checking your credit history first, and answering all the tough car finance questions up front, you will be more prepared to handle issues at the dealership. Many cars have $3,000-$6,000 factory to dealer cash incentives. If you are unaware of the current rebates, you'll be leaving money on the table. Dealers will often give up most or all of their factory to dealer incentive, passing the savings to you. These incentives combined with our other car buying tips, will often result in deals below invoice pricing.

In the articles on these pages we will not only look at the general topic of car finance but we will consider the related topics of credit history, car loan refinancing, auto insurance and all issues pertaining to special car finance considerations. Although most people don't like to think about the subject of auto financing (instead they like to focus on that shiny new car) it is actually the most important part of car buying. While your credit will be checked by the salesman, often before negotiations begin, this is not the only way you can go to get your new car. You do not have to throw yourself at the mercy of the dealership even for special car finance situations. Being prepared before you get to the dealership will mean that you can take charge of your credit and get the new car loan that serves you best.

Keep this in mind: when you negotiate with the salesman for the most favorable auto loan, nothing is permanent until you have it in writing. The sales contract is prepared once negotiations seem to be over. This is handled in the finance and insurance office (the so-called "F&I Room"). It is here that the deal is made or lost. By reading these articles on new and used car financing you will be better prepared to get the best auto loan possible. And who knows? With the money you will be saving, maybe you can move up to that more expensive new car you've been eyeing.

Once you've decided on the best way to raise the cash for a new car, follow these top tips to make sure you get the best deal:

Do shop around. Loans are like any other consumer goods, so don't be afraid to haggle for a better deal

Don't be taken in by zero or low percentage deals. Check the APR (annual percentage rate) as this is the real decider in the cost of borrowing. Look for a deal with a low APR

Do look at other ways to finance the car as these could be more convenient and cheaper

Don't assume the dealer is offering the best rate. Compare with high street banks and online lenders

Ask to see examples of repayment plans with and without extras such as payment protection and other insurances as these can seriously bump up the cost

Find out what all of the small print means and ask lots of questions. If you don't understand anything or the lender uses jargon, ask them to explain

Do think twice about companies offering easy finance to anyone. Most are reputable, but their interest rates can be high. You may be better off sorting your finances so you can get credit from mainstream lenders

Do use the internet. It's quick, easy and there are hundreds of deals available, many of them far cheaper than the high street banks'

Do contact your lender if you are having difficulty repaying the loan. All reputable lenders will happily rearrange terms to make life easier as it's in their interests that you continue to repay the loan.

Bat Mobile

Batman first appeared in May of 1939 in Detective Comics #27, and although the first true Batmobile did not appear for another two years, it has become one of the Dark Knight's best known weapons.

The Batmobile made its career debut in Batman #5, then appeared on a comic cover for the first time for Batman #20. Because of different artists' interpretations of what the car should be, it changed size, shape, and features frequently. Later, as the car was marketed beyond the comics, more forms appeared based on practical or aesthetic considerations. In the 1960s, the first full size, fully operational Batmobile was built for the TV show Batman, and had to face financial and functional questions. A few years later the design of this car would be modified for use in the Superfriends cartoon series, with the unique considerations of making a car that could be easily drawn repeatedly for animation. Then, nearly three decades after the TV series, Batman returned to live action with Warner Brothers Batman movies. At about the same time, Batman: The Animated series came out, with a whole new take on the design of Batman and his universe. All of this was on top of the natural evolution of the car over 60+ years, taking into account new technological features like the jet engine and the computer.

Hollywood customizer George Barris to design a "Batmobile" for their soon-to-go-into-production Batman show. Dean Jeffries worked on the design and initial fabrication for the Batmobile, using a 1959 Cadillac, but when the studio wanted the car faster than he could deliver, he turned it back to George Barris. With only three weeks to finish, Barris decided that rather than build a car from scratch, it would be best to transform the Lincoln Futura (bought from Ford for $1.00[citation needed]) into the famous crimefighting vehicle of TV's caped crusader. Barris hired Bill Cushenberry to do the metal modifications to the car. When filming for the series began, several problems arose due to the age of the car: it overheated, the battery went dead, and the expensive Mickey Thompson tires kept blowing. By mid season, the engine and transmission were replaced with a Ford Galaxie's.

Barris built three fiberglass copies of the original Batmobile for exhibition on the car show circuit (one of which was used for exhibition drag racing). Eventually, the three copies were covered with a black velvet "fuzz" paint, presumably to hide stress cracks in the fiberglass bodies. Later, all three were restored to their gloss black paint job. The 3 replicas are all based on a 1965–1966 Ford Galaxie. Barris has retained ownership of the original TV car, which is currently on display at Barris Customs in North Hollywood, California. The three Barris copies all reside in private collections.

One of these three Batmobiles was sold at the Coys Spring Classic Cars Auction on February 27, 2007 at the Royal Horticultural Hall in London. Coys Auctions had said it expected the car to fetch more than £75,000 - the final and closing bid was £119,000, equivalent to $233,000 USD at the time.

Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi (born February 16, 1979 in Urbino) is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with 8 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. According to Sports Illustrated, Valentino Rossi is one of the highest earning sports personalities in the world, having earned an estimated $34 million in 2007.

Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Rossi started racing in Grand Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, he moved up to the 250 cc category, again with Aprilia, and won the World Championship in 1999. He won the 500 cc World Championship with Honda in 2001, the MotoGP World Championships (also with Honda) in 2002 and 2003, and continued his streak of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 titles after leaving Honda to join Yamaha, before regaining the title in 2008.

Inaugural year for the MotoGP bikes was 2002, when riders experienced teething problems getting used to the new bikes (or dealing with the inferior 500 cc bikes). Rossi won the first race and went on to win eight of the first nine races of the season, eventually claiming 11 victories in total.

It was more of the same in 2003 for Rossi's rivals when he claimed nine pole positions as well as nine GP wins to claim his third consecutive World Championship. The Australian GP at Phillip Island in 2003 is considered to be one of Rossi's greatest career moments due to unique circumstances. After being given a 10-second penalty for overtaking during a yellow flag due to a crash by Ducati rider Troy Bayliss, front runner Rossi proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field, eventually finishing more than 15 seconds ahead, more than enough to cancel out the penalty and win the race.


Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 29
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 97 (71 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 209 (149 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 51 (41 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
World Championships: 8 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP)


from:http://wikipedia.org or http://rossifiles.com

Intercooler?

An intercooler, or charge air cooler, is an air-to-air or air-to-liquid heat exchange device used on turbocharged and supercharged (forced induction) internal combustion engines to improve their volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air charge density through isochoric cooling. A decrease in air intake temperature provides a denser intake charge to the engine and allows more air and fuel to be combusted per engine cycle, increasing the output of the engine.

The inter prefix in the device name originates from historic compressor designs. In the past, aircraft engines were built with charge air coolers that were installed between multiple stages of supercharging, thus the designation of inter. Modern automobile designs are technically designated aftercoolers because of their placement at the end of supercharging chain. This term is now considered archaic in modern automobile terminology since most forced induction vehicles have single-stage superchargers or turbochargers. In a vehicle fitted with two-stage turbocharging, it is possible to have both an intercooler (between the two turbocharger units) and an aftercooler (between the second-stage turbo and the engine). The JCB Dieselmax land speed record-holding car is an example of such a system. In general, an intercooler or aftercooler is said to be a charge air cooler.

Intercoolers can vary dramatically in size, shape, and design, depending on the performance and space requirements of the entire supercharger system. Common spatial designs are front mounted intercoolers (FMIC), top mounted intercoolers (TMIC), hybrid mount intercoolers (HMIC). Each type can be cooled with an air-to-air system, air-to-liquid system, or a combination of both.
Many older turbo-charged cars, such as the Toyota Supra (JZA80 only), Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo, Nissan 200SX (S13/14/14a/15), Mitsubishi 3000gt, Saab 900, Volkswagen, Audi TT, and Turbo Mitsubishi Eclipse use side-mounted air-to-air intercoolers (SMIC), which are mounted in the front corner of the bumper or in front of one of the wheels. Side-mounted intercoolers are generally smaller, mainly due to space constraints, and sometimes two are used to gain the performance of a larger, single intercooler. Cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX, MINI Cooper S, Toyota Celica GT-Four, Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, MAZDASPEED3, MAZDASPEED6 and the PSA Peugeot Citroën turbo diesels, use air-to-air top mounted intercoolers (TMIC) located on top of the engine. Air is directed through the intercooler through the use of a hood scoop. In the case of the PSA cars the air intake is the grille above the front bumper, then flows through under-hood ducting. Top mounted intercoolers sometimes suffer from heat diffusion due to proximity with the engine, warming them and reducing their overall efficiency. Some World Rally Championship cars use a reverse-induction system design whereby air is forced through ducts in the front bumper to a horizontally-mounted intercooler.


from: wikipedia.org

Global Positioning System for Car

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) developed by the United States Department of Defense. It is the only fully functional GNSS in the world. It uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, which enable GPS receivers to determine their current location, the time, and their velocity. Its official name is NAVSTAR GPS. Although NAVSTAR is not an acronym, a few backronyms have been created for it. The GPS satellite constellation is managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. GPS is often used by civilians as a navigation system.

After Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down in 1983 after straying into the USSR's prohibited airspace, President Ronald Reagan issued a directive making GPS freely available for civilian use as a common good. Since then, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, and hobbies such as geocaching. Also, the precise time reference is used in many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes. GPS is also a required key synchronization resource of cellular networks, such as the Qualcomm CDMA air interface used by many wireless carriers in a multitude of countries.

The first satellite navigation system, Transit, used by the United States Navy, was first successfully tested in 1960. Using a constellation of five satellites, it could provide a navigational fix approximately once per hour. In 1967, the U.S. Navy developed the Timation satellite which proved the ability to place accurate clocks in space, a technology that GPS relies upon. In the 1970s, the ground-based Omega Navigation System, based on signal phase comparison, became the first worldwide radio navigation system. The design of GPS is based partly on similar ground-based radio navigation systems, such as LORAN and the Decca Navigator developed in the early 1940s, and used during World War II. Additional inspiration for the GPS came when the Soviet Union launched the first Sputnik in 1957. A team of U.S. scientists led by Dr. Richard B. Kershner were monitoring Sputnik's radio transmissions. They discovered that, because of the Doppler effect, the frequency of the signal being transmitted by Sputnik was higher as the satellite approached, and lower as it continued away from them. They realized that since they knew their exact location on the globe, they could pinpoint where the satellite was along its orbit by measuring the Doppler distortion.

from :wikipedia.org

Robot Car 1

The MIT Smart Cities research team's car. Image: Franco Vairani/MIT Department of Architecture

It is not every day that a concept car re-writes the rules of more than 100 years of motoring. In development for four years by a team of architects and engineers led by William Mitchell, former head of the school of architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as part of his Smart Cities research group, a new MIT car is borne of a complete rethink of people's relationship with their cars in the ever-expanding cities of the future.

Prof Mitchell expects we will share cars that will be easier to drive in congested cities, will be pollution-free and can be customised at will.

The city car concept, with styling input by architect Frank Gehry, will be completed and delivered by MIT to General Motors early next year.

"Primarily we're interested in urban living," says Ryan Chin, an architect and engineer at MIT's media lab and a member of Prof Mitchell's research group. "Everything scales down from what we think the city of the future is."

The Smart Cities group focused on how cars could be better adapted to get round familiar problems of city life, namely congestion, pollution and parking. Motor companies are well aware of the issue. But the group felt the companies had missed the point, even with city cars such as the Smart, the iconic two-passenger cars introduced by Swatch and Mercedes in 1998.

"We have to think of city cars as not just small-footprint vehicles that can squeeze into tight spaces but ones that can work in unison and also be almost like a parasite that leeches on to mass-transit systems," says Mr Chin. While Smart changed the way people think about parking and size, the MIT engineers felt that, as it had not been widely adopted and congestion and pollution problems had got no better, its success had been limited.

So the MIT team started from scratch to come up with their own concept: a stackable, shareable, electric, two-passenger car. "Imagine a shopping cart - a vehicle that can stack - you can take the first vehicle out of a stack and off you go," says Mr Chin. "These stacks would be placed throughout the city. A good place would be outside a subway station or a bus line or an airport, places where there's a convergence of transportation lines and people."

The precedent for this type of shared personal transport is demonstrated with bicycle-sharing schemes in European towns and the ZipCar and FlexCar projects on the east and west coasts of the US respectively.

The MIT concept car is a complete re-think of vehicle technology. For a start, there is no engine, at least in the traditional sense. The power comes from devices called wheel robots. "These are self-contained wheel units that have electric motors inside," says Mr Chin. "The interesting thing is that the wheel can turn a full 360 degrees so you can have omni-directional wheel movements. You can rotate the car while you're moving, any direction can be front or back and you can do things like crabbing or translate sideways. It's almost like you imagine yourself driving a computer chair."

The wheel robots, complete with their own suspension, remove the need for a drive shaft and even the engine block, freeing up designers to make new use of the space in the car.

"Essentially the car will comprise four wheel-robots plus a customisable chassis," says Chin. "The frame can be built specifically for each customer."

Add wafer-thin, programmable displays that cover the interior and exterior of the car like a layer of paint, and you have a vehicle that can be customised at will. "You can imagine signalling being not just a static signal light but something more dynamic," says Mr Chin, who suggests the words "reversing" or "turning left" could roll across the car's body to declare the driver's intentions. "From a heating and cooling point of view, you might want your car to be darker or lighter depending on weather. On the interior, you can customise your dashboard for each person. If I'm an elderly person, I probably want a very large speedometer so I can see it; if I'm a race-car driver, maybe all I want is a tachometer."

The close proximity of cars in cities increases the risk of accidents, and the MIT car has a host of radical ideas to deal with this problem. Chief safety features include responsive seats that do away with the need for seat belts and air bags: these are based around a spine at the back of the seat with a number of "fingers" to embrace a passenger and hold them in place if the car detects that it is involved in an accident. And the cabin would absorb the impacts of crashes using new materials. "There is a new development in fluids that can be magnetised so that they move from liquid to solid state within a nanosecond. You can imagine using these fluids as a way of absorbing energy in an impact."

Over the next few months the MIT team will complete the final design and present their results to General Motors, which will build the first prototype. Beyond that, Mr Chin is already trying to arrange a public test in the Far East. "We might do this in Hong Kong or in Singapore," he says. "The interest in those places is that they are very dense, have mass transit and limited range. An island like Hong Kong would be a perfect place to test this because you have all those conditions."

Whether the city car concept appears on garage forecourts as designed by the Smart Cities group or whether the technologies are taken forward individually remains to be seen. Chin says the group would be happy with either outcome.

from:http://www.guardian.co.uk

Electric Vehicle

image of Prius (one of Toyota's top sellers in the United States). There are over 1 million worldwide


An electric car is a type of alternative fuel car that utilizes electric motors and motor controllers instead of an internal combustion engine (ICE). The electric power is usually derived from battery packs in the vehicle.

In general terms an electric car is a rechargeable battery electric vehicle. Other examples of rechargeable electric vehicles are ones that store electricity in ultracapacitors, or in a flywheel.

Vehicles using both electric motors and other types of engine are known as hybrid electric vehicles and are not considered pure electric vehicles (EVs) because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally to displace are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and are pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) during their charge-depleting mode. Electric vehicles include automobiles, light trucks, and neighborhood electric vehicles.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a hybrid vehicle which combines a conventional propulsion system with a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) to achieve better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle. It includes a propulsion system additional to the electric motors, to be not hampered by range from a charging unit like a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

Modern mass-produced HEVs prolong the charge on their batteries by capturing kinetic energy via regenerative braking, and some HEVs can use the internal combustion engine (ICE) to generate electricity by spinning an electrical generator (often a motor-generator) to either recharge the battery or directly feed power to an electric motor that drives the vehicle. Many HEVs reduce idle emissions by shutting down the ICE at idle and restarting it when needed (start-stop system). An HEV's engine is smaller than a non-hybrid petroleum fuel vehicle and may be run at various speeds, providing more efficiency.

HEVs became widely available to the public in the late 1990s with the introduction of the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. HEVs are viewed by some automakers as a core segment of the future automotive market. Futurist magazine recently included hybrid electric vehicles as cars of the near future.

Obama Clean Energy and Fuel Policy

Barack Obama doesn't think much of John McCain's $300 million Clean Car Challenge, treating it as if it's some new reality show on the Discovery Channel masquerading as energy policy, his energy policy and greenhouse credits policy will serve to enable us to swap our cars and air conditioners with China and India for thier bicyles, horses and carts.

Over the longer term, we know that the amount of fuel we will use is directly related to our land use decisions and development patterns, much of which have been organized around the principle of cheap gasoline. Barack Obama believes that we must move beyond our simple fixation of investing so many of our transportation dollars in serving drivers and that we must make more investments that make it easier for us to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives.

He will “launch” the energy policy that before he began his on off-shore drilling. Interestingly, he’ll push it in Lansing, Michigan, where the oil supply crisis has created dark times for auto manufacturers. According to the AP, Obama’s plan looks long on redistribution and short on real solutions, especially those that will help Michigan’s biggest industry.

Obama says he wants to tax oil companies’ windfall profits and use some of the money to help motorists pay for more expensive gasoline. He says he also wants to use $50 billion to help jump-start job creation and help local communities struggling in the economic downturn.

Obama already has an energy policy on his website, one that has been part of his campaign for months. The word “drill” does not appear anywhere in this policy, even today. The word “oil” never appears in the context of increased domestic production. Instead, Obama refers to “big oil” and the need to reduce our use of oil by 35% over the next twenty years.

How do we get there? Keep inflating those tires, folks:

• Increase Fuel Economy Standards
• Invest in Developing Advanced Vehicles
• Build Biofuel Distribution Infrastructure
• Build More Livable and Sustainable Communities

Any strategy for reducing carbon emissions must also deal with coal, which is actually the most abundant source of energy in this country. To keep using this fossil fuel, I believe we need to invest in the kind of advanced coal technology that will keep our air cleaner while still keeping our coal mines in business. Over the next two decades, power companies are expected to build dozens of new coal-fired power plants, and countries like India and China will build hundreds. If they use obsolete technology, these plants will emit over 60 billion tons of heat-trapping pollution into the atmosphere. We need to act now and make the United States a leader in puting in place the standards and incentives that will ensure that these plants use available technology to capture carbon dioxide and dispose of it safely underground.
But of course, one of the biggest contributors to our climate troubles and our energy dependence is oil, and so any plan for the future must drastically reduce our addiction to this dirty, dangerous, and ultimately finite source of energy.

Increasing the production and use of locally grown, renewable fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol offers us an opportunity to produce and use fuels within our region, enhance our nation's security by reducing dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil, strengthen the Southeastern agricultural economy, and help slow global warming.

Emissions for E85 relative to gasoline:

• 15% reduction of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
• 40% reduction of Carbon Monoxide
• 20% reduction of Particulate Matter
• 10% reduction of Nitrogen Oxides
• 80% reductions of Sulfates
• Lower toxics and hydrocarbons
• Increased acetaldehyde and ethanol emissions

(Source: EPA 2002)


A Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was passed as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requiring $7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be produced in the United States by 2012. However, the industry has grown at an unprecedented rate. In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act was passed which expanded the RFS to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The new RFS significantly expands the required production of fuel from cellulosic feedstocks and outlines lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction requirements?a critical element to ensure that the industry develops sustainably and without further advancing global warming.

biodiesel gasoline?

Biodiesel has better lubricating properties than today's lower viscosity diesel fuels. Biodiesel addition reduces engine wear increasing the life of the fuel injection equipment that relies on the fuel for its lubrication, such as high pressure injection pumps, pump injectors (also called unit injectors) and fuel injectors.

The calorific value of biodiesel is about 37.

27 MJ/L.^{[citation needed]} This is 9% lower than regular Number 2 petrodiesel. Variations in biodiesel energy density is more dependent on the feedstock used than the production process. Still these variations are less than for petrodiesel. It has been claimed biodiesel gives better lubricity and more complete combustion th

us increasing the engine energy output and partially compensating for the higher energy density of petrodiesel.

Biodiesel is a liquid which varies in color — between golden and dark brown — depending on the production feedstock. It is immiscible with

water, has a high boiling point and low vapor pressure. *The flash point of biodiesel (>130 °C, >266 °F) is significantly higher than that of petroleum diesel (64 °C, 147 °F) or gasoline (−45 °C, -52 °F). Biodiesel has a density of ~ 0.88 g/cm³, less than that of water.

Biodiesel has a viscosity similar to petrodie

sel, the current industry term for diesel produced from petroleum. Biodiesel has high lubricity and virtually no sulfur content, and it is often used as an additive to Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel.

Biodiesel is made from renewable fats and

oils, such as vegetable oils, through a simple refining process. One of the main commodity sources for biodiesel is soybeans, a major crop produced by almost 400,000 farmers in 29 states.

A variety of oils can be used to produce biod

iesel. These include:

• Virgin oil feedstock; rapeseed and soybean oils are most commonly used, soybean oil alone accounting for about ninety percent of all fuel stocks in the US. It also can be obtained from field pennycress and Jatropha other crops such as mustard, flax, sunflower, palm oil, hemp (see List of vegetable oils for a more complete list);
• Waste vegetable oil (WVO);
• Animal fats including tallow, lard, yellow grease, chicken fat, and the by-products of the production of Omega-3 fatty acids fr om fish oil.
• Algae, which can be grown using waste materials such as sewage and without displacing land currently used for food production.

Global biodiesel production reached 3.8 million tons in 2005. Approximately 85% of biodiesel production came from the European Union.

In the United States, average retail (at the pu

mp) prices, including Federal and state fuel taxes, of B2/B5 are lower than petroleum diesel by about 12 cents, and B20 blends are the same a

s petrodiesel. B99 and B100 generally cost more than petrodiesel except where local governments provide a subsidy.

Biodiesel is commonly produced by the tran

sesterification of the vegetable oil or animal fat feedstock. There are several methods for carrying out this transesterification reaction including the common batch process, supercritical processes, ultrasonic methods, and even microwave methods.

[cetane, or n-hexadecane (C₁₆H₃₄), typical of diesel fuel.]

EPA Registration and Health Effects

Testing.

All fuels and fuel additives must be registered with the US EPA and be subjected to the health effects regulations contained within 40 CFR Part 79. Companies must register their individual fuel products with the EPA in order to legally market the product to the public. In order to register their fuel, companies must either complete the health effects testing requirements using their specific fuel, or make arrangements with an entity which has completed the testing, in order to use the other entity’s data. The National Biodiesel Board has completed the required health effects testing on behalf of the biodiesel industry, and has established criteria to make the testing data available to companies seeking to register their biodiesel with the EPA. Any fuel that does not meet ASTM D 6751 is not considered biodiesel and therefore does not fall under the NBB testing umbrella. Adoption of D 6751 by the FTA will assist EPA and the biodiesel industry in preventing unregistered fuels from being illegally sold as biodiesel.

Chemically, transesterified biodiesel comprises a mix of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids. The most common form uses methanol (converted to sodium methoxide) to produce methyl esters as it is the cheapest alcohol available, though ethanol can be used to produce an ethyl ester biodiesel and higher alcohols such as isopropanol and butanol have also been used. Using alcohols of higher molecular weights improves the cold flow properties of the resulting ester, at the cost of a less efficient transesterification reaction. A lipid transesterification production process is used to convert the base oil to the desired esters. Any Free fatty acids (FFAs) in the base oil are either converted to soap and removed from the process, or they are esterified (yielding more biodiesel) using an acidic catalyst. After this processing, unlike straight vegetable oil, biodiesel has combustion properties very similar to those of petroleum diesel, and can replace it in most current uses.

A by-product of the transesterification process is the production of glycerol. For every 1 tonne of biodiesel that is manufactured, 100 kg of glycerol are produced. Originally, there was a valuable market for the glycerol, which assisted the economics of the process as a whole. However, with the increase in global biodiesel production, the market price for this crude glycerol (containing 20% water and catalyst residues) has crashed. Research is being conducted globally to use this glycerol as a chemical building block. One initiative in the UK is The Glycerol Challenge.

Promising Future for Mining Industry

MSHA conducted sampling at 31 mines to evaluate the effectiveness of several different control technologies for diesel particulate matter. These control technologies included, among others, using biodiesel fuel.

Below are the results of the sampling done at the mines using biodiesel:

MSHA entered into a collaborative effort to test DPM emissions and exposures when using various blends of biodiesel fuels in an underground stone mine. The initial study was conducted in two phases: a 20% biodiesel and a 50% biodiesel blend of recycled vegetable oil, each mixed with 100% low sulfur No. 2 standard diesel fuel. Baseline conditions were established using low sulfur No. 2 standard diesel fuel. In a third phase of the study, a 50% blend of new soy biodiesel fuel was tested. Area samples were collected at shafts to assess equipment emissions.

Results indicate that significant reductions in emissions and worker exposure were obtained for all biodiesel mixtures. These reductions were in terms of both elemetnal and total carbon. Preliminary results for the 20% and 50% recycled vegetable oil indicated 30% and 50% reductions in DPM emissions and exposures, respectively. Preliminary results for the tests on the 50% blend of new soy biodiesel fuel showed about a 30% reduction in DPM emissions and exposures.

Following the success of the biodiesel tests at Maysville Mine, Carmeuse requested assistance in continuing the biodiesel optimization testing at their Black River Mine. In this test, two biodiesel blends along with a baseline test were made. For each test, personal exposures and the ine exhaust were tested for two shifts. The two biodiesel blends included a 35% recycled vegetable oil and a 35% blend of new soy oil. Preliminary results for both the 35% reccyled vegetable oil and the 35% blend of new soy biodiesel fuel showed about a 30% reduction in DPM emissions and exposures.

Biodiesel is an obvious candidate for use in marine applications.

Independent tests have found that pure biodiesel is non-toxic, readily biodegradable and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. C16-18 methyl esters are considered biodegradable based on their chemical nature and test data collected for experimentally determined oxygen demand and carbon dioxide production as a percent of calculated theoretical values. C16-18 methyl esters do not show any micro biological inhibition up to 10,000 mg/L.

In tests performed by the University of Idaho, biodiesel in an aqueous solution after 28 days was 95 percent degraded. Diesel fuel was only 40 percent degraded. In a second study done in an aquatic environment (CO2 Evolution), various biodiesel products were 85.5-88.5 percent degraded in 28 days, which is the same rate as sugar (dextrose). Diesel degradation was 26.24 percent.

Biodiesel has a higher flash point - a minimum of 200 degrees versus about 125 degrees Fahrenheit for regular #2 diesel. Biodiesel also offers low-pressure storage at ambient temperatures, handles like diesel and is safer to transport.

Biodiesel blended at a 20 percent rate with petroleum diesel has a lower wear scar than traditional fuel. At the 20 percent blend level, biodiesel shows improved lubricity with low sulfur petroleum diesel containing high or low aromatic levels. Start-up, power, range and cold-weather performance characteristics are similar to diesel. Even low levels of biodiesel (1-5%) with diesel fuel offer superior lubricating properties. Recent test results using the HFRR test showed a reduction in wear scar from 0.61 mm to 0.35 mm using a 1% blend of biodiesel with the base diesel.

Farmers are becoming a strong customer base for biodiesel.

Biodiesel provides an opportunity for farmers to create demand for the crops they grow through on-farm use. Farmers' commitment to biodiesel is reflected in their $25 million investment in the product through checkoff dollars.

The industry has encouraged all farmers to ask their fuel distributors to carry biodiesel in at least a two percent blend (B2). Building demand at a grassroots level is critical to the addition of biodiesel to terminals on a large national scale. Although biodiesel is compatible with existing diesel technology, including diesel tanks and other infrastructure, some petroleum distributors may choose to have separate tanks for biodiesel. Adding those tanks now to meet farmer demand will help ensure that the infrastructure is in place to meet future demand from the general public.

Farmers recognize that biodiesel is a high-quality product to use in their farm equipment. Even low blends of biodiesel like B2 and B5 offer exceptional lubricity, thus slowing engine wear and tear. Plus it is a cleaner-burning fuel that is friendlier to the user and the environment.

Biodiesel for Electrical Generation.

The 6 megawatt biofueled backup power system pictured here was installed for the University of California, Riverside's 2001 pilot program and represented a significant milestone in the effort to reduce emissions from standby emergency generators. As the power crisis in California in 2001 unfolded and forced many facilities to deploy portable diesel generators to protect critical operations against blackouts, Southern States Power Company helped the state reduce harmful emissions that normally are associated with this type of equipment.

Temporary backup petroleum diesel-fueled generators typically operate in emergencies without the benefit of exhaust after-treatment to reduce emissions. Using alternative fuels for these necessary backup power sources is a cost effective method of protecting the environment. Fueled on 100% biodiesel (B100), these generators help reduce emissions compared to petroleum diesel in several key areas. Hydrocarbons, a contributing factor in the localized formation of smog and ozone, and sulfur emissions, a major component of acid rain, are essentially eliminated with the use of B100. The exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, are about 50% lower in biodiesel than carbon monoxide emissions from petroleum diesel. Particulate matter, a human health hazard, is reduced by a third, with the smaller particulates reduced by over two thirds.

The demonstration run of the generators, held in August 2001, clearly showed few signs of the telltale smoke associated with diesel fuel. The operation of the generators was part of the weekly scheduled test run by Riverside Public Utilities to ensure readiness in the case of a blackout.

The three Cummins generators represent the state of the art in compression ignition engine technology, as well as digitally controlled electrical interconnection equipment. Each 16 cylinder, 3,673 cubic inch, 2,922 HP Turbocharged/Low Temperature After-Cooled computer controlled four cycle industrial engine drives a heavy duty brushless four pole permanent magnet type generator capable of outputting up to two million watts of power at 480 volts. Separate transformers for each generator to increase reliability steps up the voltage to match the 12,470 volt electrical grid operated and maintained by Riverside Public Utilities. The three generators, operating at full output, consume almost 450 gallons of fuel per hour. A 55-gallon drum of fuel is consumed in approximately seven minutes. That is the equivalent of half a quart for every second of operation. A Southern States Power Company 5,000 gallon onsite tanker trailer provided enough fuel for over 11 hours of operation. SSPC maintained a local tanker truck with biodiesel ready to roll and replenish emergency generator needs on a 24-hour basis.

Ethanol gasoline?

Ethanol is considered "renewable" because it is primarily the result of conversion of the sun's energy into usable energy. Creation of ethanol starts with photosynthesis causing the feedstocks such as switchgrass, sugar cane, or corn to grow. These feedstocks are processed into ethanol.

About 5% of the ethanol produced in the world in 2003 was actually a petroleum product. It is made by the catalytic hydration of ethylene with sulfuric acid as the catalyst. It can also be obtained via ethylene or acetylene, from calcium carbide, coal, oil gas, and other sources. Two million tons of petroleum-derived ethanol are produced annually. The principal suppliers are plants in the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Petroleum derived ethanol (synthetic ethanol) is chemically identical to bio-ethanol and can be differentiated only by radiocarbon dating.

In Brazil, flex-fuel vehicles are capable of running on pure ethanol. In the US, tolerance of ethanol depends on the individual vehicle. Anhydrous ethanol can be blended with gasoline in varying quantities to reduce the consumption of petroleum fuels, as well as to reduce air pollution. In Brazil, by law all fuels are at least 25% ethanol.
Ethanol is increasingly used as an oxygenate additive for standard gasoline, as a replacement for methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE), the latter chemical being responsible for considerable groundwater and soil contamination. Ethanol can also be used to power fuel cells.
Ethanol derived from crops (bio-ethanol) is a sustainable energy resource that offers environmental and long-term economic advantages over fossil fuel (gasoline). It is readily obtained from the starch or sugar in a wide variety of crops. Ethanol fuel production depends on availability of land area, soil, water, and sunlight.

Bio-ethanol is obtained from the conversion of carbon based feedstock. Agricultural feedstocks are considered renewable because they get energy from the sun using photosynthesis, provided that all minerals required for growth (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) are returned to the land. Ethanol can be produced from a variety of feedstocks such as sugar cane, bagasse, miscanthus, sugar beet, sorghum, grain sorghum, switchgrass, barley, hemp, kenaf, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, sunflower, fruit, molasses, corn, stover, grain, wheat, straw, cotton, other biomass, as well as many types of cellulose waste and harvestings, whichever has the best well-to-wheel assessment.

Current, first generation processes for the production of ethanol from corn use only a small part of the corn plant: the corn kernels are taken from the corn plant and only the starch, which represents about 50% of the dry kernel mass, is transformed into ethanol. Two types of second generation processes are under development. The first type uses enzymes and yeast to convert the plant cellulose into ethanol while the second type uses pyrolysis to convert the whole plant to either a liquid bio-oil or a syngas. Second generation processes can also be used with plants such as grasses, wood or agricultural waste material such as straw.

Glucose (a simple sugar) is created in the plant by photosynthesis.

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

During ethanol fermentation, glucose is decomposed into ethanol and carbon dioxide.

C₆H₁₂O₆ → 2C₂H₆O + 2CO₂ + heat

During combustion ethanol reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and heat:

C₂H₆O + 3O₂ → 2CO₂ + 3H₂O + heat

After doubling the ethanol combustion reaction because two molecules of ethanol are produced for each glucose molecule, there are equal numbers of each type of molecule on each side of the equation, and the net reaction for the overall production and consumption of ethanol is just:

light → heat

The heat of the combustion of ethanol is used to drive the piston in the engine by expanding heated gases. It can be said that sunlight is used to run the engine.

Air pollutants are also produced when ethanol is burned in the atmosphere rather than in pure oxygen. Harmful nitrous oxide gases are produced.

According to a 2008 analysis by Iowa State University, the growth in US ethanol production has caused retail gasoline prices to be US $0.29 to US $0.40 per gallon lower than would otherwise have been the case.

When all 200 American ethanol subsidies are considered, they cost about $7 billion USD per year (equal to roughly $1.90 USD total for each a gallon of ethanol). When the price of one agricultural commodity increases, farmers are motivated to quickly shift finite land and water resources to it, away from traditional food crops.

The U.S. has invested more than $1 billion to spur the growth of a strong, sustainable domestic biofuels industry. This investment promises to reduce America's gas consumption by 20 percent within a decade, promoting a cleaner environment and keeping more of our energy dollars right here at home. We continue to aggressively pursue technologies to create advanced biofuels, and we're working diligently on constructing the biofuels section bridge away from oil. On September 24, John Mizroch, acting assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, credited corn-based biofuels production with paving the way for use of "nextgeneration, non-feedstock" sources such as cellulosic energy crops. The oil market continues to fluctuate in dramatic fashion, baffling experts, investors and policy makers. Just last month, gas prices surged in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ike, and we all experienced sticker shock at the pumps — with some stations in the U.S. charging as much as $5.09 a gallon. IkeÕs destructive force on the Gulf Coast, which represents about 20% of the nation's oil processing capacity, painfully reinforced the effects of supply disruption as well as the limitations we face by spending $1 billion dollars per day on imported oil.

Ethanol can be produced in different ways, using a variety of feedstocks. Brazil uses sugarcane as primary feedstock. More than 90% of the ethanol produced in the U.S. comes from corn. Crops with higher yields of energy, such as switchgrass and sugar cane, are more effective in producing ethanol than corn. Ethanol can also be produced from sweet sorghum, a dryland crop that uses much less water than sugarcane, does not require a tropical climate and produces food and fodder in addition to fuel.
Ethanol is produced by yeast fermentation of the sugar extracted from sugarcane or sugar beets. Subsequent processing is the same as for ethanol from corn. Production of ethanol from sugarcane (sugarcane requires a tropical climate to grow productively) returns about 8 units of energy for each unit expended compared to corn which only returns about 1.34 units of fuel energy for each unit of energy expended. Thus sugarcane nets 7/.34 or about 20 times as much energy as corn. (corn produces an additional 0.33 units of energy in the form of high-protein livestock feed).
For the ethanol to be usable as a fuel, water must be removed. Most of the water is removed by distillation, but the purity is limited to 95-96% due to the formation of a low-boiling water-ethanol azeotrope. The 96% ethanol, 4% water mixture may be used as a fuel, and it's called hydrated ethyl alcohol fuel (álcool etílico hidratado combustível, or AEHC in Portuguese). In 2002, almost 5 billion liters (1,3 billion gallons) of hydrated ethyl alcohol fuel were produced in Brazil, to be used in ethanol powered vehicles.
For blending with gasoline, purity of 99.5 to 99.9% is required, depending on temperature, to avoid separation. Currently, the most widely used purification method is a physical absorption process using molecular sieves. Another method, azeotropic distillation, is achieved by adding the hydrocarbon benzene which also denatures the ethanol (so no extra methanol/petrol/etc. is needed to render it undrinkable for duty purposes). However, benzene is a powerful carcinogen and so will probably be illegal for this purpose soon.

POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world according to the Renewable Fuels Association, is an established leader in the biorefining industry through project development, design and construction, research and development, plant management, and marketing. The 20-year old company currently operates 25 production facilities in the United States with one more under construction. The company produces and markets more than 1.47 billion gallons of ethanol annually.

The POET Biorefining facilities located in Glenville, Hanlontown, Preston, Lake Crystal, and Bingham Lake, Minn. in conjunction with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) and Dave Syverson Ford, joined together to give the Devries family a brand new F150 crew cab flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) valued at nearly $36,000 on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 during the filming of the show.

All levels of ethanol-infused fuel emit less carbon monoxide and other greenhouse emissions than standard fuel and meet EPA requirements. However, the higher levels of ethanol available through mid-level blends offer more impressive results. Research is finding that using the ideal ethanol blend for a given vehicle dramatically reduces emissions.

Not only is ethanol generally less expensive than regular gasoline, but it has been shown to increase the gas mileage many non-flex and flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) obtain. Since these alternative fuels are compatible with many of today's vehicles, soon consumers will forego a trip to their local car dealership to save money at the pump... using these new mid-level ethanol blends will mean paying less to drive farther.

For vehicles with current design flexible fuel engines, fuel economy (measured as miles per gallon (MPG), or liters per 100km) is directly proportional to energy content. Ethanol contains approx. 34% less energy per gallon than gasoline, and therefore will get 34% fewer miles per gallon. For E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline), the effect is small (~3%) when compared to conventional gasoline, and even smaller (1-2%) when compared to oxygenated and reformulated blends. However, for E85 (85% ethanol), the effect becomes significant. E85 will produce approximately 27% lower mileage than gasoline, and will require more frequent refueling. Actual performance may vary depending on the vehicle.

Fuel system design must be compatible with the percent of ethanol permitted. All current production spark ignition vehicles are designed to be compatible with up to 10% ethanol. Pure ethanol reacts with or dissolves certain rubber and plastic materials and must not be used in fuel systems that are not designed for it.
Pure ethanol has a much higher octane rating (116 AKI, 129 RON) than ordinary gasoline (86/87 AKI, 91/92 RON), allowing higher compression ratio and different spark timing for improved performance. To change a pure-gasoline-fueled car into a pure-ethanol-fueled car, larger carburetor jets (about 30-40% larger by area), or fuel injectors are needed. (Methanol requires an even larger increase in area, to roughly 50% larger.)
In many countries cars are mandated to run on mixtures of ethanol. Brazil requires cars be suitable for a 25% ethanol blend, and has required various mixtures between 22% and 25% ethanol. The United States allows up to 10% blends, and some states require this (or a smaller amount) in all gasoline sold. Other countries have adopted their own requirements. Because of this requirement it is speculated that all cars can run blends up to about 30% (so that manufactures do not have to stock parts incompatible with ethanol next to parts compatible), but it is not known if this is true.