Alternative Fuel - Laserfiche WebLink

New Search

Ii ~ CNG-fueled Honda Civic GX_ the sole widely available by more than 75 percent over,petrolgum diesel. A blend of ' 1 CNG-only vehicle in the United States-produces 90 per- 20 percentbiodiesel and 80percentpetrodiesel,sold as B20, Per kwh, it costs around 2 cents per mile. Electric cars can ;engine, most see hydrogen as a way to power fuel cells to be recharged at night, when generating plants are under- ;move cars electrically. The only byproduct of a hydrogen cent less CO and 60 percent less nitrogen oxides (NOx) than :reduces COZ emissions by around 15 percent. its gas-powered counterpart. And, C02 is reduced by 30 to Case Against: Pure biodiesel, B100, costs about $3.50- utilized. Vehicles that run on electricity only part of the ;fuel cell is water. 40 percent. According to the company, the car's exhaust is roughly a dollar more per gallon than petrodiesel. And, time and on internal-combustion power at other times- Case Against: Most energy and industry experts agree hybrids-have even greater promise. As hybrids gain in ;that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles won't be widely available leaner than the air in some high-pollution areas. ~ in low temperatures, higher-concentration blends-B30, popularity, there is a growing interest inplug-in hybrids ;until 2020. The industry still needs to develo a manufa - CaseAgainst: For a vehicle to carry enough CNG to ~ B100-turn into waxy solids and do not flow. S aal addi- P c travel a reasonable distance, the gas has to be compressed ~ fives or fuel warmers are needed to revent fuelwaxin , that allow owners to fullyrechazge luring and distribution system. P g the vehicle's batteries overnight. to 3000 to 3600 psi. At 3600 psi, CNG has aboutone-third ~ Outlook: Good. Biodiesel has a viable future as a major A strong appeal of the electric And, despite the chemical sim- as much energy as gasoline-about 44,000 BTU per unit ;fuel for transportation. According to the National Biodiesel ~ ~ HONDA'S CURRENTLY AVAIL- pliciry of electrolysis, producing volume-and the tank must be far larger, heavier and more ;Board, production of biodiesel in 2004 was about 25 million car-and of a hybrid when it's hydrogen is expensive and ener- expensive than a conventional one. running on electricity-is that it ALE CIVIC GX SEDAN HAS gal, tripling to more than 75 million gal. in 2005. The trend AN EXHAUST THAT'S CLEANER consuming. It takes about 17 In addition,energyisconsumedduringthecompression issolidlyupward,thanksto produces no tailpipe emissions. THAN THE AIR IN SOME HIGH- kwh of electricity, which costs process. Currently available in nine states to Civic GX own- govemment incentives, the Even when emissions created by POLLUTION AREAS.» about $1.70, to make just 100 ers is a compressor/refueler called Phill that uses 2 kilo- ;growing number of new powm' Plantr aze factored in, elec- cu. ft. of hydrogen. That amount .watt-hours (kwh) of electricry to compress the equivalent ;diesel vehicles for sale and tric vehicles emit less than 10 would power a fuel cell vehicle of 1 gal. of gasoline. With electricry averaging 10 cents per a grass-roots groundswell percent of the pollution of an for about 20 miles. ~ kwh nationwide, the price of CNG goes up 20 cents per gal- of support. internal-combustion car. Although hydrogen has the highest energy-to-weight ~ lon over the cost of the natural gas itself. Still, CNG is a Like E85, biodiesel Case Against: Pure electric cars still have limited range, ~ ratio of possible energy sources, it's necessary to expend bazgain compared to gasoline. A gallon of gas equivalent beganwith farm co-ops and tYPi~Y no more than 100 to 120 miles. In addition, elec- ~ a tremendous amount of energy to compress sufficient (GGE) costs about $1.20, including the cost of compres- ; local entrepreneurs. High tries suffer from slow charging, which, in effect, reduces ;hydrogen into an expensive, 5000-plus-psi storage tank in ~ sion-thanks in part to the lack of taxes added to gasoline. ;fuel prices affect farmers, ~b~tY men connected ro a dedicated, high-capac_ a vehicle. Another. option is freeaing: Cryogenic hydrogen Outlook:Limited. Even though 85 percent of our natural : too, and herewas an oppor- iry rechazger, some can be recharged in as little as an hour, boils at minus 423 E This requires energy to refrigerate but otherwise such cars are essentially not driveable while ~ and compress the hydrogen ro liquefy it, and more energy gas is produced domestically, and there's already a distn'bu tuniry to make moneyfrom they sit overnight for ' lion network in place, CNG faces a limited future as a gases ~ ` otherwise fallow farmland. g• ~ to maintain that temperature in a snperinsulated tank. line or diesel replacement. For one thing, like petroleum, it :Country singer Willie Nel- Outlook: Mixed: While. interest inplug-in hybrids ~ Outlook: Good-someday. The world's cazmakers are is nonrenewable. More aiti grows, the long-term future of pure electrics depends on ~ deeply engaged in hydrogen fuel cell research. Some car- tally, perhaps, there's already ~ son, in partnership with breakthroughs in longer-lasting, cheaper batteries and ~ makers continue to wor)u~in h ;j a great demand for natural gas-and CNG requires major several Dallas businessmen, ydFogen-fueled, internal- retooling of both cars and fuel-station infrastructtue. :has lent his name to Bio- drastically lower production costs for the vehicles them- ;combustion engines. But, the stumbling block is finding a ' ~ Willie, a brand of B20 mar- selves. And then there's ;cost- and energy-effective way ro produce hydrogen. BlOdleSel the environmental cost. i j i keted mainly to long-haul This compressor/refueler y p 'Conclusion Fuels for diesel engines made from sources other than ~ truck drivers in California, enables anyone with nest- Onl 2.3 ercent of the petroleum are known as biodiesel. Among the common ;Texas, the South and the 9an heat to refuel a nation's electriary comes ;Today, many families have severalcars-often more cars sources are vegetable oils, rendered chicken fat and used ~ Midwest. Drivers praise the CNG-powered car. o from renewable resourc- ; than they have drivers. So before we see our national fleet ~i fry oil. In fact, Rudoff Diesel's demonstration engine ran on fuel forits low emissions, butobstacles ro maiastream acxep- ° about half is generated ; running on hydrogen, we believe that many households peanut oil at the 1900 Paris World stuon. Processin ~ -lance include a hi er rice than a incoal-burning punts. ~ might have an electric or plug-in hybrid for short trips, g 8h P Petrodiesel(seasonallyand _ j: these oils into fuel involves removing glycerin and other i regionally, l0 ro 25 cents a gallon) and the need toheat stor- < ~ an E85/electric hybrid sedan, 5 W or minivan to squire contaminants through a process called transesterification. age tanks in roller climates to prevent the fuel from gelling. ; Hydrogen ;the whole team, and a diesel pickup fueled by B30 or B50 Utth7te spark ignition engines, diesels rely solely on high ~ Hydrogen is the most ~ to haul most anything else. All will reduce greenhouse compression;n the cylinder to raise the temperature of the i Electricity ; abundant element on ;gases and use renewable resources that come from inside air enough to ignite the fuel. Consequently, diesels aze toler- ;The same flow of electrons that powers your television Z Earth, forming part of ;our borders. By pursuing these multiple pathways, we can . ~ ant ofvarying-quality fuels and the high compression results ~ and iPod can provide the energy needed to move a vehi- i ~ many chemical tom- ~ reduce our dependence on any single energy source- inhigh efficiency. Diesels extract more energy from each cle. Electricity from a power source, typically arecharge- ~ pounds. Pure hydrogen something we haven't achieved with petroleum. gallon than gasoline engines, and less energy is lost as heat able batt m can bemade by electroly- But don't discount.the appeal of gasoline too quickly. r ery Pack, energizes a large electric motor that ro- leaving the exhaustpipe than with a gasoline a e. P o sis-passing electricity ; David E. Cole, chairman of the Center for Auto Research, pets the car. When slowing or stopping, the braking energy 6 through water. This Tiber- ;says, "If gasoline prices get too high and we look to other Case For: Modern diesel engines can run on 100 per• ;reverses the power flow, turning the electric motor into a cent biodiesel with little degradation inperformance tom- i generator to help rechaz a the batte v ales the oxygen, which can . ; fuels-like hydrogen you can. expect that oil-producing pared ro petrodiesel because the BTU content of both fuels circumstances ho 8 rY Pack. Under normal o be used for many industri- ;nations will reduce our wever the o fuel costs. battenes must be recharged They want to continue issimilar-120,000 to 130,000 BTU per gallon. In addition, ;for several hours at a stationary charging station, f a1 purposes. Most hydro- to pump oil out, pump dollars in, and they could see the biodiesel burns cleaner than petrodiesel, with reduced Case For: Vehicles that operate only on electrici ~ g~ cturentiy is made from ;hydrogen economy as a threat" emissions. Unlike petrodiesel, biodiesel molecules aze oxy- require no wazmup, run almost silently and have excellent z o t on our, he fuels his ~ Petroleum. Clearly, our energy future is anything but simple. But I gen-bearing, and partially support their own cmmbuston. ;performance up to the limit of their range. Also electric N bus with BioWillie, his Case .For: Though the prolfferation of energy options and surge in research 11 Aaording to the DOE, pure biodiesel reduces CO emissions i cars are cheap to "refuel." At the avera a rice of 10 cents z own brand of biodiesel- hydrogen can fuel amod- ;hold promise-even if no single alternative fuel can replace g P it's FannAid in action ified inlernal-combustion ;imported off alone. rrr 1 ~ SO MAY 2006 • POPUlARMECHANICS.COM ~ # {f - ~ ~ POPUlARMECHANICS.COM • MAY.2006 $i' f • i , ~ ~ . _