How About An Internal Combustion Engine That Runs On Wood Chips?
In his recent State of the Union speech, President Bush said, "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology." Proe Power Systems, LLC of Medina, Ohio, was recently informed that the United States Patent and Trademark Office approved another patent to add to Proe Power Systems' growing portfolio of patents for exactly the kind of new technology that the President is calling for, "To change how we power our homes and offices."
Richard Proeschel, President of Proe Power Systems, states that the technology of the latest patent actually exceeds the President's goals. "President Bush asked for methods of processing agricultural waste to make ethanol fuel for conventional engines. Proe Power Systems is providing engine technology that can use that agricultural waste directly, without the need for an additional process to make the ethanol," said Proeschel.
Conventional internal combustion engines require a liquid fuel, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, or ethanol. With modifications, they can also operate on gaseous fuels, such as natural gas or methane. The problem in freeing America from its oil addiction is that the fuels that can break that addiction are almost all solids-waste paper, wood chips, agricultural prunings, and waste stalks are good examples. Converting those solid fuels to a liquid or gas fuel involves complex and expensive chemical processing facilities. Large steam powerplants can and do burn these solid fuels directly, but they are hardly ever located near where the solid fuel originates, and so transporting the fuel is a logistical expense and complication. Locating many smaller steam engines closer to places like agricultural sites and lumberyards would seem like a simple solution. However, small steam engines are impractical because they are very inefficient, and safety codes require the full time presence of a licensed steam engineer.
Proe Power Systems' new technology, the Proe Afterburning Engine, offers a solution to direct, clean, efficient, and low-cost conversion of solid fuel to turn a shaft or produce electrical power without the need for steam boilers. Furthermore, according to Proeschel, "All components of the Proe Afterburning Engine can be manufactured in any machine shop capable of rebuilding an automobile engine. The simple construction allows small manufacturers to enter the 21st Century power market with minimal new investment by producing powerplants that have high efficiency and low emissions, using the wide variety of fuels needed to break our addiction to oil."Proeschel emphasized the importance of the newly issued patent by saying, "The addition of this new Proe Afterburning technology to our already impressive patent portfolio now makes Proe Power Systems the leader in applying thermodynamic science to meeting President Bush's goals of promoting energy independence for our country while dramatically improving the environment. Although our technology is extremely simple and practical, it has the potential to radically change the power generation market."
Proe Power Systems is nearing completion of a prototype Proe Afterburning engine to confirm its claims. The company's Proe Afterburning technology is available for license. Additional information can be found at www.proepowersystems.com.
American Auto Industry Woes Increase As Plants Ready For Closure And Ford Offers Buyouts To Employees
In January, Ford announced it would close 14 plants and cut 30,000 hourly jobs over the next six years in an effort to return the company to profitability. By February, the company had prepared several severance packages that some employees are taking advantage of and others are scoffing at. The most notable is a special $100,000 buyout offer for any worker willing to leave the company and give up all benefits with the exception of their pension plan. From the outside looking in, that sounds like a nice chunk of dinero, but for many employees that doesn't add up to their regular salary for a two-year period. Here are some of the other offers on the table.
* An Educational Opportunity Program to help workers move into a new career. The program provides workers with at least one year of seniority with as much as $15,000 a year for tuition to an accredited school of their choice for as many as four years. Those workers will receive full medical benefits and half their regular pay while they attend school. * Two early retirement programs. The first is for workers 55 and older who have 30 or more years with the company. They will receive a $35,000 check and begin retirement immediately, with full retirement benefits. The other program is for workers 50 and older with 10 or more years at the company. They will be provided a fixed level of income for life, though not as much as they would receive through the regular retirement program. "The amount will vary from individual to individual," Mulloy said. * Finally, a special pre-retirement leave program for workers with 28 years of service but not yet 30 years. Ford will allow those workers to take a leave, where they will receive 85 percent of their pay, until they reach 30 years of service.
Ford has announced plans to idle assembly plants in Wixom, Atlanta, and St. Louis, along with a transmission factory in Batavia, Ohio, and a casting plant in Windsor. Ford says it will add two more assembly plants to that list by the end of the year.
Ford has been contacted by a number of schools that are interested in the educational program, and the company is planning to allow some to set up information booths at the plants slated for closure.
From The Stupid Law Department
The SEMA Action Network proved its usefulness once again by thwarting a proposed bill in Virginia legislation that would restrict how far you could drive your classic truck from your house. Send your hate mail directly to the bill's sponsor, Virginia Delegate Danny Marshall. He proposed that "unsafe junkers" be limited to a range of 50 miles from your residence. And who is to say what is a "junker" or not? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but working brakes are not.