What happens when you mix oil and water? Wichita engineers say it makes a better diesel
Oil and water don’t typically mix well, but a Wichita-based biofuel company, Fuel Technology, is using this combination as a promising biodiesel that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve fuel economy, and lower diesel expenses, too.
Driving down the highway, you may have seen black clouds of smoke puffing out from semi-trailers. A typical diesel engine is what emits a lot of this soot, which is a leading cause of hazy skies and can lead to health issues such as asthma.
Fuel Technology is patenting a method of combining water and diesel in a way that it converts the soot generated in the normal diesel-burning process into carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, which are less harmful and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It also allows everything in the fuel cylinder to burn, which improves fuel efficiency, provides more engine power, and can even help engine equipment’s longevity.
Fuel Technology achieves this by replacing up to 35% of the volume of a diesel source with water through a mixture of compounds that let the diesel and water work together. In other words, this process isn’t exactly something to try at home. Adding water into the process breaks up a layer of soot that forms around fuel drops, allowing them to burn entirely and not build up that harmful layer of soot.
Sina Davani, Fuel Technology’s COO and chief engineer, said the technology was born out of an initial study by founder & CEO Mark Aghakhani, with further research led by Wichita State researchers including Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu, professor of Mechanical Engineering at WSU.
Davani, who is working toward his PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Systems Manufacturing from WSU, joined the company in June 2020 because he said he wanted to help make a difference to people’s lives and livelihoods.
Fuel Technology is currently approaching industry diesel refineries that already hold the infrastructure to adapt Fuel Technology’s methods to their current operations.
The company’s biodiesel is “a fossil fuel enhancement” that Davani hopes will be available to the public soon through established diesel distribution refineries and blending stations that may be available to individual farmers and large construction sites on-demand in the future.
The company is also researching adaptations of its biodiesel formulas in gasoline, jet fuel, heating oils and bunker oil. The technology has drawn interest from international partners, including refineries and governments in Egypt, Ghana, Turkey, and others.
Wichitans may just see the next big biodiesel technology growing in their own backyard.
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 3:56 AM.
CORRECTION: Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University. An earlier version of this story misstated his position.