Butane?

[oilpan49]

Hey,

Most cigarette lighters utilize butane for ignition. I am aware that most of the info I've seen out there that cars will be converted over to hydrogen for fuel and cars will use other sources of fuel.

Just a thought I always did ponder but never took seriously was is it possible to run a car on butane. Not pouring butane right into your modern vehicle, POW!!! but maybe in the future,,,,AR

 

[XS650]

Stick your butane lighter in your freezer overnight then then to light it.

Butane liquifies at a higher temperature than propane so is more difficult to use under less than warm conditions.

LPG is a butane-propane mix and is more easily used than straight butane, while making good use of butane.

 

[JHZR2]

sure, but youd need either a solid oxide or molten carbonate fuel cell with internal reforming or direct fuel oxidation, or else a pem fc with a nickel based reformer, water-gas shift reactor and some sort of h2 sepration system...

Its tough to get diesel-equivalent efficiencies without making bulk-hydrogen at high efficiencies or very high temp fuel cells. It really needs a turbine or other energy recovery system, thermal integration etc to work at high enough efficiencies, even with a cleanly reformedf fuel like methane or methanol.

IC engines might run well on it, but thats not really the future.

JMH