Posted on 03/22/2005 12:09:22 PM PST by Minus_The_Bear
This study done by Pure Energy Systems shows that adding Acteone to a tank of gas can improve mileage dramatically.
How it Works
Complete vaporization of fuel is far from perfect in today's cars. A certain amount of fuel in most engines remains liquid in the hot chamber. In order to become a true gas and be fully combusted, fuel must undergo a phase change.
Surface tension presents an obstacle to vaporization. For instance the energy barrier from surface tension can sometimes force water to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit before it vaporizes. Similarly with gasoline.
Acetone drastically reduces the surface tension. Most fuel molecules are sluggish with respect to their natural frequency. Acetone has an inherent molecular vibration that "stirs up" the fuel molecules, to break the surface tension. This results in a more complete vaporization with other factors remaining the same. More complete vaporization means less wasted fuel, hence the increased gas mileage from the increased thermal efficiency.
That excess fuel was formerly wasted past the rings or sent out the tailpipe but when mixed with acetone it gets burned.
Acetone allows gasoline to behave more like the ideal automotive fuel which is PROPANE. The degree of improved mileage depends on how much unburned fuel you are presently wasting. You might gain 15 to 35-percent better economy from the use of acetone. Sometimes even more.
so there is a noticable difference when doing this?
if it improves MPG or makes farmers happy, expect it'll be mandatory soon regardless of whether it ruins your motor.
supposedly, one of the most volatile carcinogens on the list.
aka... lacquer thinner....
Acetone is regarded as being highly carcenogenic; whether this would apply to use as a fuel additive, I can't say, though. But I can just see the scary headlines and class action lawsuits now.
Acetone is devastating to several types of rubber and plastic - I am not sure how well those used in auto fuel lines (including filter) would stand up to it, but I sure as heck would try to find out before doing this with assurance. How would you like to have your filter dissolve and be burned up? Fuel lines start gushing?
I'll wait a bit before jumping on this.
I've invented a special carburator that gets 200 MPG and runs on water, but of course the oil companies and General Motors won't let anyone use it.
I'm keeping my day job (temporarily). Would you like fries with that?
the check's in the mail... also I've heard you have a bridge for sale?
Caution, however- some modern fuel-system components do not take kindly to acetone or other volatile solvents, like methyl alcohol. I really would not try it in a modern vehicle, unless someone else tried it first without problems.
This will give you more power, make engine run cooler, and cut down or eliminate hydrocarbons--other than that, a big waste of money, billbears =-)
My FIL worked in a plant that used a lot of acetone and he died from a rare form of blood cancer. Cancer was very prevelant in that plant.
So, should I put it in my gastank?
"There are a couple of chemicals in the Nitroparaffin family that are of some interest as oxygenators. Methyl Ethyl Ketone (C2
H5 COCH3), often referred to as MEK, appears on the surface to be an attractive oxygenator. A commonly used industrial solvent, MEK has the unfortunate property of consuming all its own oxygen during its own combustion, leaving none to benefit the remaining combustion process. Coupled with its relatively low specific energy, it's basically a waste of time.
The same goes for Acetone (C3 H6 O), whose relatively meager supply of oxygen isn't even sufficient to support its own combustion, much less lend any to the gasoline reaction. Acetone does have one attractive property, however. It is extremely hydroscopic, meaning that it attracts and absorbs water. In the old days, the McCulloch racers knew this and used to mix acetone with their alcohol to help suspend the moisture that the alcohol attracted and put it in a more combustible form. It will do this in gasoline as well and, since water is not soluble in gasoline at all, but acetone, even acetone that has absorbed some water, is soluble in gasoline, it's a good way to deal with water-contaminated gasoline. But there's no power advantage to be had here and, if you're having a problem with water in your gasoline, you don't need a chemical to fix it."
http://www.foxvalleykart.com/fuel4.html
It'll beat the crap out of them.
This website just contains ideas and simple plans for testing. I wouldn't try it. I was just posting to see what others thought.
Not to mention that Acetone will absorb directly through skin carrying everything dissolved in the acetone with it.
A con man back in the thirties bilked millions from investors by claiming to have a substitute for gasoline that got dramatic mileage from a small quantity of his secret fuel invention. After putting a pint or so into an otherwise empty gas tank, the car ran on a closed track for miles and miles. It turned out later that the secret fuel was acetone and it worked all right - the only problem was that within a hundred miles or so the engine cylinders, pistons and everything else the liquid came in contact with had been corroded to junk status. Apparently, acetone plus engine heat equals a metal dissolving acid of stunning effectiveness. Unless engines can be made of ceramics or some other acid resistant material, acetone is not the answer.
I used some on a fairly hot car in the 60s and got a perceptible power bump. I never checked it out as a way to improve mileage, but it seems like it might work oK if it isn't harmful to anything else.
"What does it do to plastic or rubber seals?"
http://www.foxvalleykart.com/fuel4.html
There are a couple of chemicals in the Nitroparaffin family that are of some interest as oxygenators. Methyl Ethyl Ketone (C2
H5 COCH3), often referred to as MEK, appears on the surface to be an attractive oxygenator. A commonly used industrial solvent, MEK has the unfortunate property of consuming all its own oxygen during its own combustion, leaving none to benefit the remaining combustion process. Coupled with its relatively low specific energy, it's basically a waste of time.
The same goes for Acetone (C3 H6 O), whose relatively meager supply of oxygen isn't even sufficient to support its own combustion, much less lend any to the gasoline reaction. Acetone does have one attractive property, however. It is extremely hydroscopic, meaning that it attracts and absorbs water. In the old days, the McCulloch racers knew this and used to mix acetone with their alcohol to help suspend the moisture that the alcohol attracted and put it in a more combustible form. It will do this in gasoline as well and, since water is not soluble in gasoline at all, but acetone, even acetone that has absorbed some water, is soluble in gasoline, it's a good way to deal with water-contaminated gasoline. But there's no power advantage to be had here and, if you're having a problem with water in your gasoline, you don't need a chemical to fix it. You need a better gasoline supplier. By the way, ketones like MEK and Acetone are also really hard on rubber and plastic parts, like carb diaphragms, etc. In concentrations of less than about 15 percent by volume, it is impossible to see any change in the combustion process, while anything over 10 percent may dissolve your metering diaphragm before the day is done. Sounds like a bad bargain.
Note that the plastic and rubber problems can be engineered out using resistant polymers. The lubrication problem is probably just something in my head :)
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