Are "oxygenating" fuels. What does that mean?
Normal diesel and gasoline has long molecules of carbon chains with hydrogen atoms saturating all the open electron slots. There is no oxygen in it.
Alcohol is carbon + hydrogen molecule with an OH (oxygen+hydrogen) tail stuck on it. It is partially "oxygenated", since it takes less oxygen to burn than diesel or gas. It carries it's own oxygen with it. You can burn twice as much alcohol with a given amount of air as you can diesel. It burns easy since there isn't a heavy bond on the tail.
Nitromethane has a carbon atom, 3 hydrogens, then has a nitrogen+ 2 oxygen atom tail on it. So it is very heavily oxygenated for a fuel. But it has a very stout nitrogen bond gluing the tail on, so it is hard to burn. When it does light, you can burn up to 8 times as much in the same air as diesel.
It appears that running nitromethane (or related oxygenated compounds) in diesel fuel has been going on for quite some time. The "signature" is sometimes orange flames erupt in the exhaust when not all the nitro burns and the engine is overfueled. Since there is little oxygen left in the exhaust, the unburned nitro supplies the oxygen to help burn the extra fuel.
Normal diesel and gasoline has long molecules of carbon chains with hydrogen atoms saturating all the open electron slots. There is no oxygen in it.
Alcohol is carbon + hydrogen molecule with an OH (oxygen+hydrogen) tail stuck on it. It is partially "oxygenated", since it takes less oxygen to burn than diesel or gas. It carries it's own oxygen with it. You can burn twice as much alcohol with a given amount of air as you can diesel. It burns easy since there isn't a heavy bond on the tail.
Nitromethane has a carbon atom, 3 hydrogens, then has a nitrogen+ 2 oxygen atom tail on it. So it is very heavily oxygenated for a fuel. But it has a very stout nitrogen bond gluing the tail on, so it is hard to burn. When it does light, you can burn up to 8 times as much in the same air as diesel.
It appears that running nitromethane (or related oxygenated compounds) in diesel fuel has been going on for quite some time. The "signature" is sometimes orange flames erupt in the exhaust when not all the nitro burns and the engine is overfueled. Since there is little oxygen left in the exhaust, the unburned nitro supplies the oxygen to help burn the extra fuel.
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