elliottd wrote:
> SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE ? Any Comments ?
>
> http://www.carburetters.co.uk/Fuelcat.php#Information
It's hard to say. I'll try, to the extent I know of catalysis, to offer this
possible explanation. We know that
catalysis is a known phenomenon in chemistry. It does work, and even catalysis
specialists often cannot define the exact
process (see a few of the papers by a guy named Sinfeld). In fact, catalysis is
commonly used at the inlet side of the
fuel system--at the refinery. There, it's a messy process and the catalysts
have to be refreshed frequently, and other
separation functions are handled by distillation columns.
Gasoline, however, is pretty much a soup of hydrocarbons. Benzene (although
used now in much less concentration than in
the past, for health reasons), toluene, C4 through C12 branched paraffins,
cyclohexanes, xylene, all are part of what we
call gasoline. The formulation can vary by region and climate, but those
formulation differences are relatively small
changes in volatiles (lighter volatiles for use in colder weather, etc.).
It's also fairly well-known that the greater the number of carbon-carbon bonds
to be broken in the fuel, the more likely
there will be deposition of free carbon. So, if there were a catalytic process
that could reform some of the
lower-volatile, higher carbon compounds into higher volatile, lower carbon
compounds, then there might some benefit for
lower carbon deposition.
As for octane improvement, there is a catalytic process which will reform
methylcyclohexane into toluene (toluene having
an octane rating of about 118). Chromium and similar metals are used in the
production of iso-butane. Platinum-tin and
tin-silicon dioxide alloys have been used in hydrocarbon reforming for some
time, I believe. That said, invariably, fuel
value of higher octane components is lower, so there would have to be some
other great improvement in combustion
efficiency to offset the loss of fuel value.
As for valve recession, it may not be a matter so much of combustion temps, but
if there's a reforming of some
hydrocarbons through catalysis, this may change the types of organic acids
formed upon combustion, so valve and seat
erosion may be partly dependent upon the acid concentrations and their types.
In the past, lead deposits on the valves
and seats might have provided a sort of ablative surface which was constantly
replenished by lead in the fuel, so there
was less erosion of the metal parts by acids.
As far as this particular product goes, the magnets in the in-line fuel
container are of very dubious value, but there
is some chemical literature on the use of tin alloys as catalysts. Without
knowing the composition of the catalyst,
however, one probably can't make sense of the catalysis occurring, if any, or
how rate-dependent is the catalysis. The
only other ways I can think of to determine the efficacy of the device would be
to add the catalyst to a fuel of known
composition and then fractionate the resultant through distillation and see if
there is any reforming going on, or
perhaps compare the resultant to the known fuel with something like atomic
absorption. Or just put the resultant through
a standard octane test engine.
It's interesting, though, that most of the mention of the Broquet catalyst in a
Google search (regardless of product
name) is from other parts of the world, rather than the US. Whether that's a
function of general indifference in the US
toward fuel efficiency due to low fuel prices, or a matter of US consumer
protection law, I couldn't say.
Might make for an interesting Google search to see if any of the trade names
for this catalyst are mentioned in
government consumer fraud suits. What I see in a lot of the consumer
testimonials is familiar--general belief in the
efficacy of the product, but are very short on real test data. Someone with
money to burn on a chassis dyno could
probably determine if it helps or not.
Cheers.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM
[mailto:mporter@zianet.com]
Never let anyone drive you crazy when you know it's within walking distance.
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