Quote:
Originally Posted by ademonrower
WOW! I am impressed! Thank you very much for those extremely helpful and generous suggestions! Will look into them soonest. I had, indeed, heard of boron-compound additives. They seem to be better at reducing friction and wear than molybdenum-based ones, but I hadn't yet found such a detailed analysis as the one you sent: much appreciated! I understand that it's a tricky business adding things to oil, because some of them might react with the additives already in modern oils. However, it appears that the boron compounds are very inert and temperature-resistant. I had up to now been adding an organic zinc compound to my oil. These were dropped as soon as cars had catalytic converters, because the tiny amounts of zinc compounds in the exhaust gas could, over many 1000s miles poison the catalyst. My car doesn't have a catalytic converter (the US was miles ahead of Europe in that respect! Shame on us :-)
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Catalysts:
IMHO the exhaust catalyst/s in the wrong place!
Intake Catalysts is what we need! 
Pyrolysis: If one heats fuel (no air) with say exhaust heat you end up with Methane type gases that burn faster and thus more completely.
Gas carbs have been in 'inside use' forklifts and things for ages so as not to kill people in the building.
After that;
Steam Reformation:
Water + the above Methane-ish gasses = Hydrogen + Carbon Monoxide.
H20+HCs = H2 + CO
The industrial process happens at around the temperatures reached by exhaust close to the engine, but at MUCH higher pressures.
(They use up to 90% water! IIRC)
You can go more temperature and less pressure for the same to better reaction speed.
That's what the MIT etc's plasmatrons (you can easily turn on your lathe) do.
ie: pyrolyse and steam with waste heat, then add the extra heat/temperature with an arc.
Water-Gas Shift Reaction:
Carbon Monoxide + Water = Hydrogen + Carbon Dioxide
C0 + H2O = H2 +CO2
Happens at lower temperature than Steam Reformation so can be implemented downstream (cooled) of a the above. (with or without a Plasmatron)
All these reactions can be improved by catalysts like Zinc (wool or whatever) and Copper.
Copper is special in that, unlike most metals, heating it reduces it from 'rusty' to bright hot cooper..!
(pgfpro is planning to copper plate the cylinder head, valves and piston tops of an engine due to a study showing that this improved engines by catalytic formation of H2 'in cylinder')
So intake Catalyst:
Pyrolyse fuel and produce steam with waste exhaust heat.
No reason the liquids cant be metered and mixed and heated together in say a copper pipe wrapped around the exhaust manifold.
Then a giant spark plug, aka; Plasmatron to add the temperature for Steam Reformation without pressure.
Then you want to cool the gas before intake, so a copper or Zinc or etc (interior plated) intercooler, possibly with copper or Zinc or etc plated Steel wool in it.
Then to a Gas-Carb to be mixed with air, and into the engine.
NB that
even if only Pyrolysis happens you're still better off, so the H2 (if any) is a bonus.
(The lower flammability limit of H2 in air is only 4%...)
Gas fuel takes up space that would normally be occupied by air (oxygen) leading to less power per engine size. A Turbo 'fixes' this.
Exhaust is now 'clean' enough not to kill people and the reactions that happened in exhaust catalysts are replaced by reactions that improve combustion/economy/emissions.
If you want to clean up the exhaust; a centrifuge will remove (the much heavier) particulates like carbon (soot) and oils. As both are lubricious they can be returned to the intake where:
Red hot Carbon; C(ht) + H20 (from combustion) = H + CO at the temperatures of combustion...
ye; I know what you are thinking:
"IF all this is possible, why isn't it in every car!??"
Once people disabuse themselves of the silly notion that the oil industry has the best interests of the public at heart and GREAT (financial) power....!
(a thought that seems to go over most heads)
They probably own majority shares in the motor/engine industry.
(via shell companies if you look at what happened to the MIT Plasmatron)
I take the trouble to tell you all this as you are from a nation of engineers and fabricators where things are made perfect + 10% in every second garage.
Most countries: "Yes but can I buy one at Walmart? No? Then why bother talking all that sh!t at me!?"
I like and admire the German people's engineering and perfectionist workmanship as much as they do mine.
Boric Acid:
Is... er.. very controversial here. (to the point the same oil/motor industry seems to have a hand in the discussion!)
If we take it further here the thread will devolve into a dung flinging contest.
There will be a thread on that later. (Lotsa chem reactions etc to fully understand but I'm close)
I'll let you know>
But in the meantime NB that people mix different engine etc oil brands all the time, adding whatever's on the shelf at the gas station they happen to be at.
The formulators work with that knowledge as the last thing they want is: "I put in a can of (Brand Name) and my engine seized!!"
ie: Additives are carefully chosen to be compatible with any/all alternates.
Sludge seems to be the only side effect and Boric Acid loosens it which can be an issue for oil pump pickups with very fine sieves, as found in VW engines in my experience.
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