Trailer Life, February 26, 2009
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Ricardo Inc., a powertrain engineering company in Michigan, reports that it has developed a system that allows ethanol-fueled engines to deliver performance exceeding gasoline-fueled engines and rival the mileage of diesels. The system is called Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection (EBDI) and it is said to run on ethanol, gasoline or a blend of both. The company says EBDI solves many of the challenges facing flex-fuel engines because it is optimized for both alternative fuels and gasoline. Current flex-fuel engines pay a fuel economy penalty of about 30% compared to gasoline when operated on ethanol blends such as E85. EBDI improves ethanol's efficiency to the point that its performance can be compared to that of diesel fuel. A prototype 3.2-liter V6 could replace a larger gasoline or turbo-diesel engine and is currently being installed in a dual-wheel pick-up truck for further testing and evaluation.
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