obc | sustainability of automobile fuels
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Amarjit Singh, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA Sustainability of automobile fuels http://obc2012.outofthebox.si/TRANSCRIPT
SUSTAINABILITY OF
AUTOMOBILE FUELS
Amarjit Singh
University of Hawaii at Manoa
PROBLEM STATEMENT
2
95% of the world’s transportation sector relies
on petroleum oil.
The world has 1.3 trillion bbl of proven oil reserves, being
consumed at 85 million bbl / day. This will last only 42 years.
With 2% growth per year, the oil will last 31 years!
PROBLEM STATEMENT
3
Improved efficiency gasoline engines are only a band-aid
solution
New oilfield discoveries may add 2~4 years, at most.
An alternative fuel needs to be found for transportation
in order to avoid a crisis.
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PREMISE
Can only plan for tomorrow with the technology of today
“Better to fix the known than wait for the unknown”
(Ancient Arabic Proverb)
AUTOMOBILES AROUND THE WORLD
MANILA
DELHI
BEIJING 5
HANOI SEOUL TEHRAN 6
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PARIS MOSCOW WASHINGTON DC
CONCEPT CARS AND
FEASIBLE CARS
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CONCEPT CARS
Wind-powered, solar-powered, flying-cars,
nuclear-powered, and algae-fueled cars
Closer to science fiction than reality
FEASIBLE CARS
Natural gas, hydrogen fuel cells, biofuels,
hybrid vehicles, and electric
vehicles
NATURAL GAS
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NATURAL GAS FUEL (- NON
RENEWABLE)
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Propane – Uses LPG
CNG – Burns methane
• Natural gas fuels emit 1/3rd fewer reactive organic gases.
• Performance is similar to a gasoline-powered car
• Range is 25% less than gasoline cars because of the lower energy content of fuel.
• Propane engines last twice as long as conventional engines – lower maintenance.
NATURAL GAS RESOURCE
LIMITATIONS
11 No. of cars using natural gas in the world =
275,000
2008-10 Data
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OIL SHALE, OIL SANDS, PRESALT
DEEPWATER, TIGHT OIL, &
ARCTIC OFFSHORE
RESOURCE AVAILABILITY FOR “NEW”
AND ‘UNCONVENTIONAL” OILS
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HYDROGEN FUEL
HYDROGEN FUEL
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HYDROGEN CARS
Hydrogen internal combustion engine
vehicle (HICEV)
Produces nitrous oxides
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (HFCV)
Electrochemical cell produces electricity
from hydrogen
Water is a byproduct
First fuel cell conceived in 1839
HYDROGEN
BENEFITS
Zero emission vehicle
Electricity, heat, water
Very efficient use of
on- board hydrogen
Uses renewable fuel
source
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Greenhouse gases are 95% water vapor
How much can the atmosphere hold?
and …>>
HYDROGEN CONCERNS
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H2 car currently
costs $300,000
H2 infrastructure in USA could
cost $500 billion, but manageable
over 50 years
Pt cells malfunction
below 32 degrees F
H2 is sometimes
stored in high
pressure tanks,
up to 5000 psi.
These cause
potential safety
and storage
issues that have
not yet been fully
resolved.
MIRACLES NEEDED
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Dr. Steven Chu: need four miracles for HFCVs to become reality
1. Cost
2. Infrastructure
3. Fuel cell
4. Storage
PLATINUM RESOURCE
CONSTRAINT
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WORLD USA
Platinum reserves (billion oz.) 1
No. of cars produced per year (million) 50 7.5
Pt in cars produced per year (million oz.) 125 18.75
Pt is depleted (years) 8 53
Amt of platinum needed per car = 2.5 oz for 100 KW cell (typ.)
Recycling Pt will mean that growth will not be accommodated
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BIOFUELS
BIOFUELS
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Most common alternative fuel in the U.S. today
1. Ethanol fuel
Energy from burning of alcohol
and sugars
Used in gasoline engine
2. Biodiesel
Energy derived from fatty acids
such as vegetable oils and animal fats
Used in diesel engine
Saving the US 304 million gallons of gasoline each year 0.21% of annual US consumption
ETHANOL
E10 to E100
Emissions reduced by 10% – 30%
Ethanol engines are 67% as efficient as gasoline engines, which have only an efficiency of 14% 22
LAND ISSUES: CORN
and SUGAR FOR
ETHANOL
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USA
Ethanol Produced (billion gallons)
Gasoline Consumed
(billion gallons)
Arable Land
(million acres)
% Arable Land Area
Arable Land in USA 396
Current ethanol consumed 9 24.7 6.2%
Current gasoline consumed 146
Corn ethanol for 250 m cars 219 590 149%
Sugar ethanol for 250 m cars 31 84 23%
GGE: 1 gallon of gasoline = 1.5 gallons of CORN ethanol
1 acre of land yields ~ 370 gallons of CORN ethanol
SUGAR CANE
ETHANOL
Sugar based ethanol is 7 times more efficient than corn, but sugar grows only in warm climates (23% of land area)
Hence, fuel dependence could shift from oil-producing countries to sugar-producing countries in tropical regions. {Change the WORLD ORDER}
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BIODIESEL
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BIODIESEL (GGE = 0.96) - PALM AND SOY
OIL
Biodiesel yields 320% more energy
per gallon than is
required for production (13 times
better than corn ethanol)
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Lowers carcinogenic properties of diesel
fuel by 94%
Through its life cycle, biodiesel reduces
greenhouse gas
emissions by 41%
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USA
Biodiesel Production
(billion gallons)
Gasoline Consumed
(billion gallons)
Arable Land
(million acres)
% Arable Land Area
Arable Land in USA 396
Gasoline consumption current 146
Soy Oil for 250 million cars 140 2,000 505%
Palm Oil for 250 million cars 140 280 71%
GGE: 1 gallon of gasoline = 0.96 gallons of biodiesel
1 acre of land yields ~ 70 gallons of soy oil and 500 gallons of palm oil
LAND ISSUES: SOY AND
PALM OIL FOR ETHANOL
Algae research promises to
deliver fuel by using only
1.1% of the arable land!
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HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES
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Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)
STRONG HYBRID
Able to run on just batteries, just engine,
or combination
[Toyota Prius]
POWER ASSIST HYBRID
Runs on gasoline but uses electric
motor for additional power when needed
[Honda Insight]
Increased fuel efficiency;
regenerative breaking …
HYBRID CONCERNS
31
Still rely on gasoline as the source of fuel
Even if every vehicle in the U.S. was a hybrid by 2025,
because of growth in vehicle use, the U.S. would still need to import the same
amount of oil that it does today.
RESOURCE CONSTRAINT:
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS
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Toyota Prius is the largest user
• 2.2 lbs of neodymium for electric motor
• 22-32 lbs of lanthanum for NiMH battery
China controls 95% of REEs
• has been reducing exports every year since 2004
• plans to stop exports by 2013
Million
lbs Cars Years
World Reserves 13.2 bn - -
Amount per Prius 27 - -
No. of Cars Possible - 489
Years this can last - - 10
LANTHANUM
LANTHANUM
RESOURCES
FOR NIMH
BATTERIES
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10
Note: Current Production of cars in the world = 50 million/ year
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
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Avoid use of REE by using AC motor (Tesla) and lithium ion battery (GM)
BATTERIES
AC or DC Motor
Charging typ. Takes 8 hours
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Lead-acid
• cheap, easily available, very heavy
• limited capacity (12 Kwh), limited range
• short life; disposal problems
Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)
• doubles the range
• long-lasting (RAV 4)
Lithium ion
•twice the capacity of NiMH in half the weight
• (Chevy VOLT and Tesla ROADSTAR)
•Zero emissions while in use
LITHIUM RESOURCE
CONCERNS: WORLD
37
Li in ground (million tonnes)
LiCO3 (million tonnes)
Cars Produced (billions)
Li runs out in
(years)
28.4 150 2.14 43
Li in Ocean (million tonnes)
238,878 1,261,682 18,000 360,000
0.5% of Li in Ocean (million tonnes)
1,194 6,308 90 1,800
•Each car uses 70 kg (typ.) of LiCO3
•50 million cars produced per year
•1 KWh requires 1.4Kg
Ocean mining costs
$30/kg cf. $8/kg on land
ELECTRIC CAPACITY - USA
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U.S. current installed capacity: 1,031 GW
250 million cars charging 8 kW over 8 hrs each night requires 250 gigawatts installed capacity
Charging mostly done at night when demand for power is low
Hence, additional capacity is not deemed necessary
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EXTENDED RANGE ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EREV)
& PLUG-IN HYBRID
VEHICLES (PHEV)
PHEV and EREV OPERATIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS
40
•The car is essentially an electric vehicle with a gas-tank backup.
• Runs on batteries, but uses an ICE to power a generator to charge the batteries when the batteries are low.
• Engine can be ICE on biofuel, or fuel cell …
PLUG-IN
HYBRID
ELECTRIC
VEHICLE:
PHE
V
EXTENDED
RANGE
ELECTRIC
VEHICLE:
EREV
PHEV AND EREV CONCERNS
Same electric, ethanol, gasoline, and fuel cell concerns as already discussed previously
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Solutions
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Solution 1: A Mix of
Technologies
Use a little bit of every technology
Reduces strain on
the resources
Lesser trauma for technology changeover
Overall life is
still 161 years
Possible Future of Automobiles
Biodiesel (sugar) powered engines
Enough biodiesel (sugar) could be grown on 23% of arable land, which is quite doable
Will entail major political changes in the world, a major shift in world power, and major reprioritization. (Best of luck!)
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Solution 2: Sugar
Ethanol
SUMMARY
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“PROMISES” &
“HOPES”
Li-S batteries can increase range by 5
times; Li-air by 10 times
1/10th the amount of
platinum can be used in a
fuel cell
Algae to power all US cars can grow
on 1.1% of arable land
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RUMOURS
FINDINGS
48
World dependence on oil is a security and economical risk for many countries
The current use of automobiles is creating a scenario in which the world will run out of oil and earth minerals
The system is NOT SUSTAINABLE
A completely new world order will be necessary
It will be nothing like we are used to
Changes are possible: but strong political will is necessary, and may come at an
immense cost
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EPILOGUE
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Price: $500 for Horse and Carriage; $200 for
Bullock Cart
Manufacturing: very easy
Emissions: nothing to worry about; biodegradable
Benefits: Fertilizer by-product; leather; oils
Recycling: not necessary
R&M: Spare parts not needed; [more veterinarians
required]
Useful working life: 12~18 years
Health effects: Return to easy pace of life; reduce
stress 54
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We hope things can work out!