Argonne-Led Team Finds Specially-Designed Engines and Fuels Could Cut Air Emissions and Water Use

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Advanced fuels and new engine designs could reduce emissions and water use over the next 30 years, according for a new study led by Argonne scientists.

Advanced fuels and new engine designs could reduce emissions and water use over the next 30 years, according for a new study led by Argonne scientists.

Advanced fuel blends, along with new engine designs, could reduce greenhouse gases, air pollutants and water use over the next three decades, according to a study led by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory.

The paper, published last month in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, examined the potential impact of diversifying the U.S. fuel mix to include increased proportions of biofuels and engines designed to use these fuel blends. Doing so, the authors write, could make engines 10 percent more efficient compared to those running on conventional fuel.

“It is very exciting that biomass holds the potential to produce blendstocks that can boost fuel economy,” said the study’s lead author, Jennifer Dunn, who is a chemical engineer at Argonne. ​“This reduces fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions by two routes: less fuel consumption overall and an increased share of fuel that has a lower carbon footprint than conventional gasoline because it is made from renewable biomass.”

Read more at DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

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