Fueling stations

Fuel Flexible Vehicles. Using dedicated alcohol fuel vehicles pointed to the importance of a wide distribution of fueling stations. Methanol-fueled vehicles require refueling more often than gasoline vehicles. 

Natural Gas. Natural gas, an abundant fuel resource in the United States, has sufficient reserves to fuel over 10 x 10 U.S. vehicles per year for the next 50 years (122). Natural gas is used in two forms as a transportation fuel compressed or Hquefied at low temperatures. Tanks for the storage of compressed natural gas are heavy and larger in volume than for Hquid fuels. However, the added cost is offset by an expected lower pump price compared to gasoline (123). Whereas the lack of pubHc natural gas fueling stations and other factors make natural gas more attractive for fleet vehicles in the United... 

LPG. LPG could be a principal alternative transportation fuel if its other uses were displaced by natural gas. A significant number of LPG fueling stations are located throughout the United States. LPG is a Hquid fuel and does not suffer the same driving range problem as natural gas. Because LPG vapor pressure is high, the storage tank has to withstand 2800 kPa (400 psi). 

U.S. War Industries Board, General Bureau of Planning and Statistics. (1918). The World s Steamship Fuel Stations. Washington, DC Author. 

The control of benzene emis.sions from the fuel system includes limiting the amount of benzene in the fuel and vapor recovery at fuel stations. 

If fuel cell technology were introduced on a large scale for automotive transportation, would you prefer a fuel distribution system in which gasoline fuel remains the major energy carrier but is reformed on-board to hydrogen or one in which hydrogen is provided at fuel stations Explain your choice. 

Note Energy content of 1 kg hydrogen approximately equals the energy content of 1 gal. of gasoline. a Liquid hydrogen via tanker. b Liquid hydrogen fueling station. 

Concept for an information repository for permitting hydrogen fueling stations. 

LaChance, J., Risk-Informed Separation Distances for an Example Hydrogen Fueling Station, Presentation at IEA Task 19 Meeting, Tsukuba, Japan, January 31-February 2,2007. 

Now, we see much more investment in fuel cell technology, hydrogen fueled vehicles and even hydrogen fuel stations. The technology is being pushed by economics as oil prices continue to rise with dwindling supplies. 

A hydrogen economy may require the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars for an entirely new energy infrastructure of pipelines, fueling stations and power sources. This will come from public and private money. 

A study by GM estimates that 10 billion to 15 billion would pay for 11,700 fueling stations in major urban areas. This would be enough so a driver could always be within two miles of a hydrogen station in these major urban areas with a station every 25 miles along main highways. These hydrogen stations would support about one million fuel cell vehicles. 

The nation s first E85 (85% ethanol) fueling station opened in La Habra, CA in 1990, operated by the California Renewable Fuels Council. 

An experimental Honda fueling station in the Los Angeles area produces about 1/2-kg of hydrogen per day, about 3.5-kg. It uses 700 square feet of solar panels to produce 6 kilowatts of power to electrolyze water. 

Hydrogen gas is odorless and colorless. It burns almost invisibly and a fire may not be readily detected. Compressed hydrogen gas could be ignited with the static discharge of a cell phone. But, an accident may not cause an explosion, since carbon fiber reinforced hydrogen tanks are nearly indestructible. There is always the danger of leaks in fuel cells, refineries, pipelines and fueling stations. 

Hydrogen powered cars need to hold enough fuel to get the 300 mile driving range of today s IC cars. Hydrogen service stations are few, so refueling becomes a problem. About 12,000 fuel stations in the hundred largest cities in the U.S. would put 70% of the population within 2 miles of fuel. At a cost of one million dollars per station, 12 billion would be needed to provide a fuel infrastructure. This is less than half of what it would cost to build the Alaska pipeline in today s dollars. 

Plug Power, a Latham, NY, based manufacturer of stationary hydrogen fuel cell generator units for backup power has developed a hydrogen fueling station with the help of Honda. This station uses a small steam reformer that extracts hydrogen fuel from natural gas using steam. The steam reformer has been reduced to half the size of the previous version. 

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, found that forecourt hydrogen production at fueling stations by electrolysis from grid power was most expensive, at 12/kg with forecourt natural gas production at 4.40/kg. 

In 2004 a retail hydrogen fueling station opened in Washington D.C. in a partnership between Shell and GM to develop hydrogen-fueled vehicles on a commercial scale. The station will service GM fuel cell vehicles. Both compressed and liquid hydrogen refueling are available. 

Hydrogen can be separated from the flue gas at low cost in high-temperature fuel cells. A SOFC system may be able to cogenerate hydrogen for about 3.00 per kg which can match gasoline. Since these fuel cells could be part of the fueling station, there would be no need for a hydrogen delivery infrastructure. 

The road to hydrogen vehicles and a hydrogen fueling delivery system may take many paths. Today, it may seem unlikely that market forces alone will result in the installation of thousands of hydrogen fueling stations across the country. But, this is exactly what happened with our pres-... 

About 80% of public fleets use central refueling, but only about one third of business fleets do and most of those also use commercial fueling stations. Most fleets that centrally refuel use outside sources for at least 15% of their refueling. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has had major concerns over fuel leakage and underground water contamina-... 

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