Electric cars, battery powered

The future use of lead may be decided by the resolution of an environmental paradox. Some markets for lead are being phased out because of environmental concerns, eg, the use of tetraethyllead as a gasoline additive. However, a 1990 State of California law and similar laws in nine eastern U.S. states require that 2% of new cars meet 2ero-emission standards in 1998. By 2003 this requirement rises to 10% of new vehicles. Zero emission vehicles are generally accepted to mean electric, ie, battery powered cars, and there is considerable research effort to bring suitable electric vehicles to market by 1998. 

Batteries are electrochemical cells. Where would we be without batteries A battery is needed to start a car. Batteries power flashlights, move toys, and make watches work. Jewelry with lightbulb designs can use tiny batteries. A battery provides an electric current through oxidation-reduction reactions in which the flow of electrons is directed through a wire. The force of the electrons through the wire is measured in volts. 

These batteries are also too large for use in electric cars. An electric car is powered by electricity rather than gasoline. A great deal of research is being done to create the most economical electric car. 

Most of the nickel-cadmium batteries that are used in electric cars today power the car for only 50 to 100 miles before they run down and need to be recharged, a process that takes many hours. In Randers, Denmark, special parking spaces with electric hookups are available for battery-operated cars. 

Alternatives to coal and hydrocarbon fuels as a source of power have been sought with increasing determination over the past three decades. One possibility is the Hydrogen Economy (p, 40), Another possibility, particularly for secondary, mobile sources of power, is the use of storage batteries. Indeed, electric vehicles were developed simultaneously with the first intemal-combustion-cngined vehicles, the first being made in 1888. In those days, over a century ago, electric vehicles were popular and sold well compared with the then noisy, inconvenient and rather unreliable peU ol-engined vehicles. In 1899 an electric car held the world land-speed record at 105 km per hour. In the early years of this century, taxis in New York, Boston and Berlin were mainly electric there were over 20000 electi ic vehicles in the USA and some 10000 cars and commercial vehicles in London. Even today (silent) battery-powered milk delivery vehicles are still operated in the UK. These use the traditional lead-sulfuric acid battery (p. 371), but this is extremely heavy and rather expensive. 

By the late 1990s, it was clear that only the big automakers could make the electric car really happen. But, these were the same companies that had disdained electric cars earlier. GM once sued California in the U.S. District Court in Fresno to block imposition of the state s zero-emissions rules. These regulations would require automakers to build thousands of electric vehicles using rechargeable storage battery technology. But, the auto industry contended that conventional, electric-powered cars were too expensive and too limited in range to be profitable. 

Some of these began their work with electric cars. In Germany Ferdinand Porsche, built his first car, the Lohner Electric Chaise, in 1898 at the age of 23. The Lohner-Porsche was a first front-wheel drive car with four-wheel brakes and an automatic transmission. It used one electric motor in each of the four wheel hubs similar to today s hybrid cars, which have both gas and electric power. Porsche s second car was a hybrid, with an internal-combustion engine driving a generator to power the electric motors in the wheel hubs. On battery power alone, the car could travel 38 miles. 

Manufacturers and researchers have attempted to power electric cars with rechargeable batteries, such as modified lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries. However, rechargeable batteries run down fairly quickly. The distance driven before recharging a battery may be 250 km or less. The battery must then be recharged from an external electrical source. Recharging the lead-acid battery of an electric car takes several hours. Cars based on a version of the nickel-cadmium battery can be recharged in only fifteen minutes. However, recharging the batteries of an electric car is still inconvenient. 

A new type of power supply for electric cars eliminates the need for recharging. A fuel cell is a battery that produces electricity while reactants are supplied continuously from an external source. Because reactants continuously flow into the cell, a fuel cell is also known as a flow battery. Unlike the fuel supply of a more conventional battery, the fuel supply in a fuel cell is unlimited. As in the combustion of gasoline in a conventional engine, the overall reaction in a fuel cell is the oxidation of a fuel by oxygen. 

Research the aluminum-air battery, and the sodium-sulfur battery. Both are rechargeable batteries that have been used to power electric cars. In each case, describe the design of the battery, the half-reactions that occur at the electrodes, and the overall cell reaction. Also, describe the advantages and disadvantages of using the battery as a power source for a car. 

Electricity can be used as a transportation fuel to power battery electric and fuel cell vehicles. Electric fuel is electricity that is used to directly power the vehicle. In a sustainable energy future, electricity will become the prime energy carrier. We now have to focus our research on electricity storage, electric cars and the modernization of the existing electricity irrfrastractrrre. 

The importance of lowering automobile emissions has already resulted in changes in car manufacturing. Electric cars, which were popular 100 years ago but fell by the wayside because they could not keep up with gasoline-powered cars, are making a comeback. Although battery-powered vehicles are useful for short, slow trips aroimd a crowded campus, for instance, they continue to be plagued by limited speeds and durations. Automobile manufacturers have alleviated these problems by com-... 

Whenever you start a car, use a battery-powered device, apply a rust inhibitor to a piece of metal, or use bleach to whiten your clothes, you deal with some aspect of electrochemistry. Electrochemistry is that branch of science that involves the interaction of electrical energy and chemistry. Many of our daily activities use some form of electrochemistry. Just imagine how your life would be in a world without batteries. What immediately comes to mind is the loss of power for our portable electronic devices. While this would certainly be an inconvenience, consider the more critical needs of those with battery-powered wheelchairs, hearing aids, or heart pacemakers. In this chapter, we examine the basic principles of electrochemistry and some of their applications in our lives. 

Fuel cells are currently being intensively developed as they have the potential to provide power in a relatively nonpolluting fashion. Legislation in the United States requires that a percentage of all new vehicles should emit no hydrocarbons or oxides of nitrogen (so-called zero emission vehicle. The current internal combustion engine cannot meet such stringent demands and so alternatives have to be found. The main contenders are electric cars which run on either batteries or fuel cells, or a combination of the two. Current developments now include not only fuel-cell-driven buses and cars, but also power sources for homes and factories. Micro-fuel cells for mobile phones and laptops have been developed. 

Some car batteries require the periodic addition of water. Does adding the water increase or decrease the battery s ability to provide electric power to start the car Explain. 

Almost all road vehicles are powered by ICEs. The only notable exceptions include vehicles powered by electricity drawn from an external grid (e.g. trolley buses), from on-board batteries (e.g. electric cars) or, possibly in the future, from fuel cells. 

Renault-Nissan is heavily committed to electric vehicles as well. The company plans to launch an electric car in the U.S. market in 2010. The car will be designed to have a range of 100 miles and performance comparable to that of a V-6 gasoline-powered car. A quick plug in of about one hour will deliver a recharge of about 80% of the batteries capacity. 

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