Ethanol as an engine fuel
Posted by Krzysztof Lis on March 18, 2008
When Otto invented his first internal combustion engine in 1872, people didn’t know how to refine (distillate) crude oil. Because of that, no petroleum-derived fuel were available at that moment. So Otto used spirit (90-95% alcohol, or 180-190 proof) as a fuel for his engine. Ford T’s engine was able to work on gasoline, spirit or any mixture of those two substances. Even now, alcohol is quite a good fuel for spark ignition or even compression ignition (diesel) engines. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
