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First Mix System For Alcohol And Diesel
People say alcohol and diesel fuel don't mix but a fluid engineer at a small college on Long Island, N.Y., has worked out a solution to the problem with an add-on fuel "emulsifier" that he's used to burn up to 46% alcohol in a Ford TW10 tractor.
Dr. Vito Agosto, professor at Polytechnic Institute of New York and
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First Mix System For Alcohol And Diesel ENERGY Alternative Fuels 5-5-4 People say alcohol and diesel fuel don't mix but a fluid engineer at a small college on Long Island, N.Y., has worked out a solution to the problem with an add-on fuel "emulsifier" that he's used to burn up to 46% alcohol in a Ford TW10 tractor.
Dr. Vito Agosto, professor at Polytechnic Institute of New York and president of Fuels Systems Design Corp., is known for developing innovative fuel systems that are used widely in the trucking and shipping industries. When he realized, through contacts in the Midwest, the need to find a way to burn alcohol in diesel tractors, he began experimenting.
"The system meters and emulsifies the fuel just ahead of the fuel injectors. That means it suspends the one fuel in the other for as complete a mix as possible of the two as they enter the cylinders. The mix isn't necessarily stable but it doesn't have to be since the emulsified fuel is burned immediately," explains Agosto.
The fuel system is geared to farm alcohol fuels in that it works well with alcohol at as low a proof as 150 and will adjust easily to the varying alcohol contents of farm-produced fuels.
Agosto says he burned as much as 46% alcohol mixed with diesel but recommends a maximum of 31%. "At that level, we found the tractor runs efficiently even though you lose about one gear of power. If you get into a spot where you need more power, you can change the mixture on-the-go. At 10% alcohol, you actually have more power than with straight diesel. You can switch back to straight diesel, too."
Other than a separate fuel tank for alcohol, Agosto didn't make any modifications on the TW10 when installing his system. The valves and a small pump mount on a small platform on the side of the engine. Although additional on-farm testing is needed, Agosto says the system is designed to be an integral part of the fuel system and requires little special attention.
He's looking for farmers interested in testing the unit before bringing it on the market. He estimates cost of the fuel system at about $1,000.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Fuels Systems Design Corp., P.O. Box 3, Centerport, N.Y. 11721 (ph 516 427-7670, or 427-0432).
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