Sunday, November 30, 2008

What Is A PICC And How Does It Work?

By Sinclair Sonny

Despite the price of crude oil going down in price in the world market, there is still the issue of the world economic slowdown to be concerned about. Any amount of savings is welcome in these uncertain times, and one item in particular stands out when looking for ways to cut costs - the cost of gasoline. Today, people are clamoring for better gas mileage and asking car manufacturers to improve the fuel economy of vehicles.

The good news for those who cannot wait for the car manufacturers is that there are a lot of options available out there. There are many new developments in the area of bio fuels. There is now home made bio diesel, and home bio diesel conversions kits. But for those not keen on manufacturing their own fuel, there are other options such as Hydro Assist Fuel Cells, and one other promising system called Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter (PICC) technology.

PICC technology is still in its infant stages and some companies are now gearing up for mass production. But even in this early stage of development, PICC is being touted to provide up to five fold increase in gas mileage for your car.

In truth, every car has a Catalytic Converter, so the technology is not new. Catalytic converters are installed in the car's emission system, right there in the exhaust pipe. It is used for breaking down the large gas molecules that were left un-burnt in your engine into smaller particles that can be incinerated before being released into the air.

PICC technology aims to use this system in reverse, breaking down the gas into smaller particles before sending it to the engine. The theory is that because the fuel is broken down before it reaches the engine, a more efficient burn will occur. That is, theoretically, how the PICC will work.

How can fuel savings be achieved, and how much?

With modern fuel injection technology, car manufacturers have been able to control the entry of just the right amount of fuel into the combustion engine to improve a car's fuel economy. With further tweaking and adding the PICC system, less fuel is needed to output the same amount of power from the engine, because the fuel is already primed to be burned more efficiently.

In one scientific test conducted by researchers, a large 318 V-8 Chrysler engine was run on a dynamometer at 3,000rpms under a 50% load for an hour. This is the same testing equipment and conditions Detroit uses. In the control test, the engine used 18 pounds of fuel, which when converted approximates 22 mpg. On the second run the researchers ran engine with PICC modification under the exact same conditions for another hour. In a very surprising result, the engine was found to have used only 2 pounds of fuel, a 9-fold increase in efficiency totaling a staggering 200 m per gallon.

Although still in the development and testing stages, it is showing a lot of promise. It means more savings, more money for other expenses, reduction in greenhouse gases, and most importantly for America, less dependence on foreign oil.

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