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Compression Ignition Engines are a Big Breakthrough

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday January 31 2018, @12:50AM   Printer-friendly
from the under-pressure dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

It's called Spark Controlled Compression Ignition, and Mazda made it work.

Despite rumors to the contrary, the internal combustion engine is far from dead. Recently we've seen several technological advances that will significantly boost the efficiency of gasoline-powered engines. One of these, first reported back in August 2017, is Mazda's breakthrough with compression ignition. On Tuesday, Mazda invited us to its R&D facility in California to learn more about this clever new Skyactiv-X engine, but more importantly we actually got to drive it on the road.

The idea behind Skyactiv-X is to be able to run the engine with as lean a fuel-air mixture (known as λ) as possible. Because very lean combustion is cooler than a stoichiometric reaction (where λ=1 and there is exactly enough air to completely burn each molecule of fuel but no more), less energy is wasted as heat. What's more, the exhaust gases contain fewer nasty nitrogen oxides, and the unused air gets put to work. It absorbs the combustion heat and then expands and pushes down on the piston. The result is a cleaner, more efficient, and more powerful engine. And Skyactiv-X uses a very lean mix: a λ up to 2.5.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/01/mazdas-skyactiv-x-shows-the-internal-combustion-engine-has-a-future/

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @01:29AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @01:29AM (#630761)

    This is what burning shit (well, farts) looks like:

    CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O

    You're using quite a few chemicals there! You can make energy without chemical reactions, but you're literally going nuclear at that point.

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @01:36AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @01:36AM (#630767)

    So... A long hose from the cabin seats to the air intake manifold?

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @02:17AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @02:17AM (#630784)

      And taco stands in lieu of gas pumps...

      89, 92, and 94 bean?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @09:08AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @09:08AM (#630875)

        This side of the pond we have chicken jalfrezi and pilau rice.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @05:41AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @05:41AM (#630829)

    My farts *ARE* nuclear, you clod!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @09:10AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 31 2018, @09:10AM (#630877)

      I know. I detected your fast neutrons. What a pen and ink!