Mother's Anaerobic-powered Automobile

(Page 2 of 2)

January/February 1974
The Mother Earth News editors 
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[1] Homemade methane can be "refined" so that each cubic foot of the gas has the maximum possible Btu value.

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[2] A special lightweight (it takes less fuel to push around less pounds) mini-vehicle can be designed just for operation on bio-gas.

[3] That super-compact automobile can be fitted with as large a fuel tank as possible.

[4] The ultra-light car's methane tank should be a pressure bottle able to withstand from 400 to 3,000 psi so that relatively large quantities of bio-gas can be compressed into the container.

[5] The vehicle's engine/transmission/drive-train assembly should be the smallest, most efficient combination possible. "Most efficient"—in this case—probably meaning a four-cycle, high-compression, air-cooled powerplant coupled to a stick shift.

[6] The mini-car should be carefully conceived to deliver maximum utility when operated within a particular—and somewhat limited (by 1972, but certainly not 1980 standards)—performance envelope: two place, minimum luggage, rather leisurely acceleration, 55 mph top speed, 200-mile range.

[7] The operator of the vehicle should be trained to drive the car for maximum fuel economy: easy starts, constant cruising speeds, etc.

If this all sounds like something of a drag well, we're sorry about that. The alternative may well be no driving at all (or motoring down the highway on gasoline that costs better than $1.00 a gallon).

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