I have a 1999 Honda Accord, and I wanna make it run with no emissions at all. I’m thinking about replacing the gas engine with an electric one, then rigging an alcohol fueled motor to the battery bank. When the car exceeds 35MPH, the motor turns itself on and keeps the batteries at full charge.
On another note, I’m also considering converting the motor to propane, but would that be ZERO emissions? Also, would fuel be tough to get?
Any fuel you use is going have emissions*. Any hydrocarbonesque fuel (Natual Gas, Propane, alcahol) is going have CO2 and H2O at a minimum. Assuming you are using air you are going to get NOx as well.
It is ceratainly possible to make an electric car than switches over to use an internal combustion engine after a certain speed is needed (or to recharge the battery). That is basically what a Toyota Prius does.
Toyota has economies of scale and already paid for R&D and it sells the Prius for ~20,000. I dunno what the costs to make is.
You already have a body, seats, etc. But you nedd the electric motor, battery pack and control firmware.
OOPs forgot to explain my asterix. I should mention it is theoretically possible to compress/liquefy your exaust. Tho I doubt it would be worth it.
I shoud also point out that even a fully electric vehicle has indirect emissions, unless teh elctricit comes for a non-emission source.
Alcohol does not have zero emissions. Tractors burn a lot of diesel fuel to harvest the corn, and a power plant has to burn coal (or whatever) to convert the corn to alcohol.
Unlike gasoline, alcohol is not a fuel. It is an energy vessel, much like a battery.
In my area there used to be a business that sold propane, and converted street-legal vehicles to propane fuel as well. The place closed down but I don’t know if they moved or went totally out of business, but you might call around to places that sell bulk-propane and ask about converting a car, if anybody knew I’d bet they would. I mostly saw agricultural vehicles and pickup trucks, but cars were possible also. This was largely pre-computerized-engine days however.
And I have run across places online that specialize in info on converting cars to electric-only operation. They don’t so much stock all the stuff as keep track of where to find it. And I noticed the example converted cars tend to be on the small side–so forget about a silent Cadillac Eldorado for now.
The problem with building a multiple-engine car is not if it is possible, but if constructing and using such a vehicle pollutes any less. Multiple engine systems == more weight, and since one main way to boost fuel economy is to construct a lighter vehicle, it is reasonable to question if you’d just be better off using one engine. And electric cars do not “reduce” pollution so much as displace it off to places that you cannot see.
…A good guide is that if one thing costs less than another, then the first is more than likely more efficient, and causes less pollution than the second. So take a time period, say seven years? And figure in the purchase price of a car, and all the fuel and oil it would need. And then compare that to a hybrid vehicle, counting all the costs associated with maintaining it. How much money would you save? Is there a savings at all?
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