| USA. Rotapower engine achieves California Super-Ultra Low Emissions goal on ethanol fuel |
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| Monday, 14 August 2006 | |
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Development news: Moller International, Inc. (OTCBB:MLER), the developer of the Skycar(R) aircraft, the Rotapower(R) line of rotary engines and the Aerobot(R) line of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), today announced it had achieved remarkably low emission levels in recent test of its Rotapower(R) engine. With ethanol as the fuel, the toxic emissions generated by the Rotapower(R) engine were below the California Super-Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV) standards as well as the ambient levels of some U.S. cities. The 530cc engine tested produced 22 hp at 4500 rpm with an air/fuel ratio of 20 and lambda of 1.35. The toxic emission levels with ethanol were as follows: Unburned hydrocarbons (HC) = .5 ppm or .0043 gm/hp-hr Carbon monoxide (CO) = 9 ppm or .03 gm/hp-hr Nitrous oxide (NOx) = 3 ppm or .016 gm/hp-hr The carbon dioxide produced was 11%, which is 25% lower than with gasoline. Ambient carbon monoxide levels in the Los Angeles basin averaged 17 ppm over 8-hr for 144 days annually while the average annual HC level was at .8 ppm. In this case the Rotapower engine would help clean the air when used to power vehicles and equipment. Previous tests of the Rotapower(R) engine using gasoline were witnessed by Dr. Andy Burke from the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at the University of California in Davis. These tests showed that with gasoline the Rotapower(R) engine produced toxic emissions below the ultra low emission vehicle level (ULEV) without using an exhaust after-treatment (no catalytic converter required). This new data shows that the Rotapower(R) engine operating on ethanol meets the California SULEV standard also without exhaust after-treatment. The Company believes that applications using the Rotapower(R) engine running on ethanol could actually improve air quality in some cities in the US. Moller International was formed in 1983 and recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement that is expected to lead to high volume production of its Rotapower(R) rotary engine in Eastern Europe. This alliance which includes MI's exclusive Rotapower(R) engine licensee, Freedom Motors is to be named Rotapower Limited and is anticipated to produce engines for a wide variety of applications in the world market. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 14 August 2006 ) |
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