What do you think of this Wikipedia article?

The article below is talking about polyisobutylene as a gasoline additive giving much greater gas mileage with almost no emissions. I read it and I think that this is not evidence of a new gasoline additive but evidence that gasoline can be refined differently so that it works the way it ought to work.

My first reaction was that the world could have 20% more fuel with 70% less pollution using the additive so why haven't they started doing it. Then it dawns on me that PIB is refined in the same plants that gasoline is so they could be refining gasoline to have these same or even greater properties. This whole theory discounts to a great extent the need for octane.

Is the octane theory like a holy grail that can't be disputed or something? Did Jesus invent octane? What I mean is that all the experts I talk to boost with great prowess when expressing their scientific knowledge related to the complexities of octane. Now, from what I see, octane is idiocy and they should have known this a long time ago. So what, does that mean we have to keep pretending that we have all these global warming issues and energy shortages. Maybe I am looking at it wrong. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

Polyisobutylene is a polymer. Polymers are usually used to add to other chemicals or production processes to strengthen or harden components in a mixture of chemicals. A polymer is used in Epoxy glue kits where you have two tubes of glue that you mix together which creates a compound that is extremely durable. One of the tubes contains a polymer which is the hardener for the glue mixture.

Polyisobutylene is used in making; Adhesives, Agricultural Chemicals, Fiber Optic Compounds, Caulks and Sealants, Cling Film, Electrical Fluids, Lubricants - 2 Cycle Engine Oil, Paper and Pulp, Personal Care, Pigment Concentrates, Rubber Modification, gasoline and diesel fuel additives - MTBE (methyl tert butyl ether) and has many other uses. It is used to help clean up oil tanker spills into water ways. When added to crude oil, it causes it to coagulate, stopping the oil plume from spreading, making it easier to vacuum from the surface of the water.

Polyisobutylene is produced from isobutylene. It's atomic element is expressed as C4H8,being a combination of carbon and hydrogen. It is mostly refined from natural gas or crude oil.

It also has properties that were discovered by Professor Paul Waters of American University in Washington, D.C. while research using it to make jet fuel less volatile in order to lessen risk of ignition during refueling spills and in crashes. He took the initiative to add it to gasoline in vehicles and machinery around the lab site where he was working with jet fuel.

While the air force discovered a better way to solve their jet fuel problem, professor Waters discovered that he increased power and mileage per gallon and significantly reducing harmful emissions. Amazingly this could be accomplished with just a few tablespoons to a full tank of an automobiles gasoline. He discovered that vehicles using the additive gave 20% more miles traveled for a gallon of gasoline, reduced engine emissions by 70%, and increased engine horsepower by ten percent. It also made engines run smoother with less knocks reducing wear and tear on motors meaning less repair and a longer life. It gives simular characteristics to diesel fuel.

Polyisobutylene as a gasoline additive works by hardening the molecules in gasoline so they combust more evenly. It coats each molecule so that it is independent of the other molecules so that when injected into the engines piston cylinder and ignited, all the fuel ignites simultaneously. It also coats the entire fuel system and piston combustion chamber which protects parts and helps insure that fuel does not stick to cylinder walls when the fuel is fired. This causes a smooth running process within the engine while causing more power from more efficiently burning of the gasoline. Current theories on solving the problem of even combustion of gasoline have to do with octane. The higher an octane rating of a fuel, the thinner and more volatile it is. Other chemicals like MTBE are added to gasoline to help separate gasoline components which makes the fuel more gaseous, acting as a thinner. The theory is that it aids the fuel in misting once it is injected into the piston cylinder.

What Professor Waters claims is that octane boosters although fuel to mist where the droplets are unevenly dispersed and very in size. Some of the fuel inevitably sticks to the walls of the cylinder. This causes it to not combust until it is pushed up to the exhaust valve by the piston rings. The end result is for the engine to lose power and for knocking to occur. It also makes the engine run warmer because fuel is still igniting when it is exiting the exhaust manifold. With polyisobutylene, the fuel that hits the piston wall bounces upon ignition because of the additive coating.

Professor Waters has fully tested his theories on Polyisobutylene as a gasoline additive and got the approval of the American Chemists Society for his work just as the Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1990 was being debated. As word leaked out about polyisobutylene's properties as a gasoline additive, a lot of pressure came to bare on the then President George Bush, the first Bush President, to force the oil companies to add it to gasoline. The oil companies however refused saying they would not cooperate with any mandate nor agree to voluntarily comply with public wishes for its use. They did however agree that they would be willing to add another additive to gasoline called MTBE, which has polyisobutylene in it. It is used to stabilize the very volatile components that MTBE is made from so it won't simply turn to gas. It is produced in the same refineries that produce MTBE. MTBE is largely produced from isobutylene also.

MTBE had been used by the oil companies since 1979 as an octane booster at 3 percent by volume in gasoline. Added in this low amount, the polyisobutylene in the MTBE acted to increase the engine performance in vehicles. It was thought that MTBE increased engine performance.

As the debate over the CAA continued, the notion slowly evolved that MTBE was not as good an additive as polyisobutylene but almost as good, and has polyisobutylene in it. It was known at the time that MTBE would pollute a great deal of US groundwater through leaking fuel tanks and that there would be a 3 percent loss in miles traveled per gallon and an increase in some harmful emissions. Due to political pressure in Washington to pass the CAA, it passed the House and Senate in unprecedented votes with near hundred percent support. It was later signed by the President.

The dispute over polyisobutylene was settled by the President appointing a panel to the EPA to study the concerns of scientist who thought surely that MTBE would become an environmental nightmare while polyisobutylene was safe for the environment and would give consumers a great advantage over their past experiences with gasoline. At issue was the patent on polyisobutylene as a fuel additive that was held by the US government. At the time of his discovery, Dr Waters was working on a government contract. The President had the authority to wave the regulations that required that Dr Waters follow a ten year waiting process to allow him to produce and market his innovation. He decide to wait for the EPA's report on MTBE. The report did not surface until

1999. It concluded that MTBE should be removed from the market immediately because of groundwater and air quality concerns. It is still being used today.

At issue also in 1990 was where to come up with the money to build the infrastructure to produce enough MTBE to enter into US gasoline supplies at a 15% ratio. As it seemed all was lost for the possibility for compliance with the CAA mandate for an oxygenate additive, a deal was struck between international bankers, the oil companies, and the US government that created a trillion dollar loan package. It was used for the unprecedented task of building enough refinery capacity to produce the amount of MTBE needed to meet the EPA's deadline one year later. This task ended with much fan fair about being the grandest engineering feat throughout all of history to be accomplished in such a short period of time.

Enron and the Saudi Government played important roles in this process of meeting the EPA's requirement for an oxygenate additive to gasoline. Polyisobutylene was pushed out of the political landscape because the investment in our nations fuel needs had been made behind a loan that would not be paid off until 2006. This meant MTBE would not produce a profit for it's investors for 15 years. Ironically, this is the same year when Dr Waters patent would be up for renewal and the same target year for phasing out MTBE's use after the EPA's report. To add insult to injury, this is also the year we are phasing out most MTBE use in the country because it has failed miserably as a gasoline additive. This will mean an even greater increase in gasoline prices as this election year unflods.

With polyisobutylene's properties as a gasoline additive, it still has a brilliant future by and large. It however is still banned from discussion in Washington, DC and in Houston. The issue of polyisobutylene only brings back bad memories of MTBE. It is too closely linked to it to discuss without drawing attention to an issue that the American public is still largely in the dark about. US producers of MTBE, who have lobbied the government for billions of dollars to retool their plants to produce other products other than MTBE are producing polyisobutylene for sale in other industries but not for use as a gasoline additive.

snipped-for-privacy@wmconnect.com

Reply to
Bobby
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You really don't know what you are talking about and come across as a salesman and/or a political advocate. Your mistakes are way too numerous to numerate in detail. Let me just work on the first two paragraphs:

Where exactly is this article? It's all your sales pitch.

gas mileage with almost no emissions.

Almost no emissions from an internal combustion engine?

Adding PIB is most certainly adding an additive.

it ought to work.

Waters work has nothing to do with refining gasoline differently.

pollution using the additive so why haven't they started doing it. Then it dawns on me that PIB is refined in the same plants that gasoline is so they could be refining gasoline to have these same or even greater properties.

PIB is not refined. Refining is the process of altering crude oil into usable products. PIB is made from the refined products.

Which theory?

Where did the subject of octane enter the discussion?

I can go on like this with ALL of the remaining paragraphs. ALL of them have technical problems. You are unable to talk about Waters work at an acceptable scientific level.

Waters has provided some interesting results and they have been interpreted in a far more rational manner than you propose. However, it's a long way from "Eureka! It works in the lab" to it "Eureka! It works for decades in all existing cars across the country without any serious problems". And not just because of the oil company conspiracies that are keeping this all supressed. Waters is aware of these issues. Contact him directly and tell us what he says are the challenges that need to overcome.

Wikipedia is what you make of it. Literally.

John Aspen Research, -

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"Turning Questions into Answers"

Opinions expressed herein are my own and may not represent those of my employer.

Reply to
john.spevacek

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