Fuel alternatives

Alternating copolymers Alternative fuel Althesin Alto... 

Fuels, alternative Fuels, combustion Fuels from biomass Fuels from waste Fuels, liquid Fuels, synthetic... 

Dedicated Vehicles. Only Brazil and California have continued implementing alcohols in the transportation sector. The BraziUan program, the largest alternative fuel program in the world, used about 7.5% of oil equivalent of ethanol in 1987 (equivalent to 150,000 bbl of cmde oil per day). In 1987 about 4 million vehicles operated on 100% ethanol and 94% of all new vehicles purchased that year were ethanol-fueled. About 25% of Brazil s light-duty vehicle fleet (10) operate on alcohol. The leading BraziUan OEMs are Autolatina (a joint venture of Volkswagen and Ford), GM, and Fiat. Vehicles are manufactured and marketed in Brazil. 

In 1987 Seatde Metro purchased 10 new American built M.A.N. coaches powered by methanol. Six GM buses powered by DDC methanol engines entered revenue service at Triboro Coach in Jackson Heights, New York, 2 GM buses in Medicine Hat Transit in Medicine Hat, Manitoba, and 2 Flyer coaches in Winnipeg Transit, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. An additional 45 DDC powered methanol buses were introduced in California as indicated by Table 4. Figure 11 shows the distance accumulation of alternate-fueled buses in the four California transit properties. 

Table 4. Distribution of California s Heavy-Duty Alternative Fuel Demonstration Vehicles...

CNG, compressed natural gas, and LPG, liquefied petroleum gas, are also used as alternative fuels. 

In reviewing the fiiU range of health and safety issues associated with all alternative fuels, the California Advisory Board determined that there were no roadblocks that would prevent the near term deployment of either methanol or ethanol, assuming that adequate safety practices were foUowed appropriate to the specific nature of each fuel (14). 

Assessment of Costs and Benefits of Flexible and Alternative Fuel Use in the U.S. Transportation Sector, Progress Report One, DOE/PE-0080, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., Jan. 1988. 

R. J. Nichols, "AppHcations of Alternative Fuels," SAE Special Publication SP-531, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, Pa., Nov. 1982. 

R. A. Potter, "Neat Methanol Fuel Injection Fleet Alternative Fuels Study," paper presented at Eourth Washington Conference on Alcohol, Washiagton, D.C.,Nov. 1984. 

Alternative fuels fall into two general categories. The first class consists of fuels that are made from sources other than cmde oil but that have properties the same as or similar to conventional motor fuels. In this category are fuels made from coal and shale (see Fuels, synthetic). In the second category are fuels that are different from gasoline and diesel fuel and which require redesigned or modified engines. These include methanol (see Alcohol fuels), compressed natural gas (CNG), and Hquefted petroleum gas (LPG). 

Fig. 1. Alternative fuel cycles for nuclear fuel, where (-) corresponds to the classical fuel cycle, (—) the throwaway fuel cycle, and (—) the recycle...

B. Eisenberg, G. C. Lahn, R. A. Eiato, and G. R. Say, presentation 2i. Hltemate Energy 93, Council on Alternate fuels, Colorado Spriugs, Colo.,... 

Wolf, G. T., and Frosch, R, A., Impact of alternative fuels on vehicle emissions of greenhouse gases, j. Air Waste Manage. Assoc. 41(12) 1172-1176 (December 1991). 

In the United States, in particular, recent legislation has mandated sweeping improvements to urban air quality by limiting mobile source emissions and by promoting cleaner fuels. The new laws require commercial and government fleets to purchase a substantial number of vehicles powered by an alternative fuel, such as natural gas, propane, electricity, methanol or ethanol. However, natural gas is usually preferred because of its lower cost and lower emissions compared with the other available alternative gas or liquid fuels. Even when compared with electricity, it has been shown that the full fuel cycle emissions, including those from production, conversion, and transportation of the fuel, are lower for an NGV [2]. Natural gas vehicles offer other advantages as well. Where natural gas is abundantly available as a domestic resource, increased use... 

The relative volume and mass for the different fuel systems, normalized to that of diesel, is shown in Fig. 2 and illustrates the disadvantages of most of the alternative fuels compared to gasoline and diesel, in terms of storage density. 

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) an alternative fuel for motor vehicles considered one of the cleanest because of low hydrocarbon emissions and its vapors are relatively non-ozone producing. However, vehicles fueled with CNG do emit a significant quantity of nitrogen oxides. 

Of all the fossil fuels, petroleum is considered the least sustainable fuel option (most finite and fastest rate of depletion), which is the main reason for the development of alternative fuels. Resources of natu-... 

In the United States, the leading use of alternative fuels is not as standalone fuels, but as additives to petroleum-based gasoline and diesel fuel. For example, gasoline sold m much of the United States is 10 percent ethanol or 10 percent methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). 

NRC estimated costs of alternative fuels, including incremental vehicle costs, compared to oil at 20 per barrel. 

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