I only have a minor in chemistry, so I'm going to qualify my comment with that statement.
I have to say this sounds like the biggest load of pseudoscience I have heard in a while. Yes, you can reduce combustion temperatures with a catalyst but you will be able to see it happen. None the tests you mention in this post show anything, it keeps saying "no, you can't see this in any test". That right there is a huge red flag.
What about a reduction in NOx? What about flame temperature readings? I mean, you don't need an ICE to test it, right? Just inject some into a hydrocarbon flame and see what happens.
Generally lower flame front temperatures result in more incomplete combustion. Any explanation why this isn't happening?
Originally Posted By: jonny-b
I also received this info:
"We regularly receive questions regarding fuel catalyst technologies and how they work. In particular, the Archoil AR6200. The existing definition of “burn rate modifier” and “lowers burn rate by up to 400 degrees” has caused confusion.
In simple terms, a catalyst facilitates a better burn of the fuel. Each fuel type will have a flash point and auto-ignition point, determined by temperature and other factors. This is different to the burn rate.
Both petrol and diesel is composed of carbons and these carbons or carbon chains require up to 1200ºF to burn fully. This has nothing to do with the flash point. The flash point is the temperature at which the vapour of the fuel will ignite with the help of an ignition source and the auto-ignition point is the temperature at which the fuel vapour will ignite without an ignition source.
Once the fuel has ignited it creates an exothermic reaction (heat). It is this rapid increase in heat that actually burns the fuel (carbons) and creates the explosion in the combustion chamber, thus resulting in a massive release of energy forcing the piston downwards and thus rotating the crank shaft.
If you can reduce the temperature at which the carbons burn, say by up to 400ºF in the case of AR6200, you can improve the burn. This is achieved by increasing the surface area of fuel droplets, and starting the burn rate of hydrocarbons at a lower temperature to yield more available BTU’s from the combustion process. The fuel becomes more aromatic (increased chemical stability) and a longer residual burn occurs. By commencing the burn rate lower, the lower end hydrocarbons are burnt and the combustion process is more residual and complete, practically eliminating unburned hydrocarbons and wasted energy in the form of black smoke or emissions.
Altering the burn rate in this way does not directly increase horse power. It increases the energy release through the explosion, which raises torque output. The result of burning the fuel more fully will also increase torque as well as lower emissions as proven by the AR6200 carbon mass balance tests. This is the same process with all hydrocarbon fuels such as petrol, diesel, ethanol, heating oil, heavy fuel oil etc.
Will AR6200 affect the octane rating of petrol?
No, we have proven with ASTM D2699 tests that there is no change. Octane is simply a measurement at which gasoline will auto ignite. Increases in cylinder pressures and temperatures can make the fuel ignite prematurely, thus creating the dreaded engine knock/pinking sound. Octane boosters or anti-knock additives reduce the volatility of the fuel so that it ignites as instructed via a source of ignition rather than on its own.
AR6200 only affects the temperature at which the carbons will burn once the fuel has ignited. It does not directly alter the flash or auto-ignition point. That said, tests have shown that the improvement in combustion quality and stability means that the propensity of pre-ignition is actually reduced with AR6200 and therefore can have the effect of “raising” the octane. This cannot be demonstrated with a simple D2699 knock engine.
But isn’t this contradictory? Not really. When fuel is not fully burned it can leave pockets of fuel that subsequently ignite a second time, again causing engine knock. The improvement in combustion quality from using AR6200 helps eliminate this because all fuel carbons are burned fully the first time. AR6200 is not altering the auto-ignition point of the fuel but instead correcting another inherent source of engine knock - remaining unburned fuel".