alternative energy vehicle

8/13/2019 Alternative Energy Vehicle

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Alternative Energy Vehicle

Introduction

An alternative fuel vehicle is a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than "traditional" petroleumfuels ( petrol or diesel ); and also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involvesolely petroleum (e.g. electric car , hybrid electric vehicles, solar powered).

Reason For looking at alternative energy source :

Because of a combination of factors, such as environmental concerns, high oil prices and the potential for peak oil

evelopment of cleaner alternative fuels and advanced power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for many governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world.

Present Energy Status :

As of 2011 there were more than one billion vehicles in use in the world, [2][3] compared with around 70 million alternativefuel and advanced technology vehicles that had been sold or converted worldwide as of ecember 2011, and made upmainly of!

27"1 million fle#ible$fuel vehicles through ecember 2011, led by %ra&il with 1'"3 million ,[(][)]f ollowed by the

*nited +tates with almost 10 million, ['] anada -'00,000., [7] and /urope, led by +weden -22 ,)22. "[ ] he %ra&ilianfleet includes 1") million fle#ible$fuel motorcycles sold since 200 " [ ][ ][10][11]

17") million 45 powered vehicles by ecember 2010, led by ur6ey with 2"3 million, 4oland -2"32 million.,

and +outh orea -2"3 million."[12]

1(" million natural gas vehicles by ecember 2011, led by 8ran with 2" ' million, followed by 4a6istan -2" )million., Argentina -2"0( million., %ra&il -1"7 million., and 8ndia -1"1 million."[13]

)"7 million neat$ethanol only light$vehicles built in %ra&il since 1 7 , [(] with 2"( to 3"0 million vehicles still in use

by 2003" [1(] [1)] and 1"22 million units as of ecember 2011 "[1'] 9ore than '"7 million hybrid electric vehicles have been sold worldwide by August 2013, led by oyota 9otor

ompany - 9 . with more than )") million e#us and oyota hybrids sold by August 2013 ,[17] followed by :onda9otor o", td" with cumulative global sales of more than 1 million hybrids by +eptember 2012 ,[1 ] and ;ord 9otor

orporation with more than 200 thousand hybrids sold in the *nited +tates by


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million units sold through +eptember 2012, [21][22][23] followed by olt -7, 7 units. "[3'] +ince


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n 1 3 , the elsh scientist +ir illiam Dobert 5rove too6 the familiar electrochemical process of electrolysis, which useselectricity to produce hydrogen from water, and reversed it, generating electricity and water from hydrogen" :e called hisinvention a gas voltaic battery, but today we 6now it as a hydrogen fuel cell" 9uch later, in the middle of the 20th century,the technology was further developed by the inventor ;rancis %acon" he technology that these two inventors devised isessential to the operation of a hydrogen car"

he first practical fuel cell system was developed in the early 1 '0s by 5eneral /lectric for use in orbital space capsules"

And then, in the 1 0s fuel cells began appearing in city buses" so we 6now that powering vehicles with fuel cells isfeasible" Eou can thin6 of a fuel cell as a 6ind of bat tery, e#cept that while a battery 6eeps its fuel inside itself, a fuel cellneeds to be refilled" he fuel for a hydrogen fuel cell is, as the name suggests, hydrogen" As you might recall from highschool chemistry class, hydrogen is the simplest of all elements" An atom of hydrogen consists of a single electron and asingle proton" he fuel cell generates electricity by stripping the electrons from the protons and using the electrons tocreate a pure stream of electricity" he ioni&ed hydrogen atoms then combine with o#ygen to form water" he otherbyproduct of this process is heat, so this water generally ta6es the form of steam" :ow=s that for eco$friendly drivingF

he type of fuel cell used in cars is the polymer e#change membrane -or 4/9. fuel cell" 4/9 fuel cells have theadvantage of being light and small" hey consist of two electrodes -a negatively charged anode and a positively chargedcathode., a catalyst and a membrane" :ydrogen is forced into the fuel cell at the anode in the form of :2 molecules, eachof which contains two hydrogen atoms" A catalyst at the anode brea6s the molecules into hydrogen ions -the protons. anda flow of electricity -the electrons." he ions pass through the membrane, but the electricity has to go around" hile it=s

doing so, it can be harnessed to do wor6"


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foreign oil" +econd, the only byproduct from a fuel cell=s operation is heat and water, which means fuel cells don=t producepollution" his is vitally important in a time when carbon emissions from cars are believed to be promoting global warming"

+o how do manufacturers actually build fuel$efficient vehicles, li6e fuel cell carsF ell, hydrogen car production is notvastly different from producing typical cars" @f course, the drive train, for instance, and the electrical systems will besomewhat uniCue because a fuel cell creates electricity" herefore, a hydrogen$powered car and electric car have a lot incommon in that respect" 4erhaps a more important Cuestion is how the hydrogen itself will be produced" 5iven thathydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, constituting roughly 0 percent of the atoms in e#istence, you=dthin6 that this wouldn=t be a problem" ell, thin6 again" :ydrogen is also the lightest element in the universe and anyuncontained hydrogen on the surface of the /arth will immediately float off into outer space" hat hydrogen remains onthis planet is bound with other e lements in molecular form, most commonly in water -:2@. molecules" And there happensto be a lot of :2@ on the surface of the /arth"

%ut how do we separate the hydrogen molecules in the water from the o#ygen moleculesF And if we don=t use water as ahydrogen source, where else can we get hydrogenF

he simplest way of getting hydrogen from water is the one that +ir illiam 5rove 6new about more than 1)0 years ago!electrolysis" 8f you pass an electric current through water, the :2@ molecules brea6 down" +imilar to fuel cell operation,this process uses an anode and a cathode, usually made from inert metals" hen an electric current is applied to thewater, hydrogen forms at the cathode, and o#ygen forms at the anode" Although this process is slow, it can be done on alarge scale"

An alternative source for hydrogen is natural gas, which consists of naturally occurring hydrocarbons" A process calledsteam reformation can be used to separate the hydrogen in the gas from the carbon" At present, this is the most commonmethod of industrial$scale production of hydrogen and would li6ely be the fi rst method used to produce the hydrogen forfuel$cell vehicles" *nfortunately, this process uses fossil fuels $$ the natural gas $$ so if the point of building cars that runon hydrogen is to avoid depleting fossil fuel reserves, natural gas would be the worst possible source of this fuel"

+ome e#perts have suggested that it might be possible to build miniature hydrogen plants that will f it in the averageperson=s garage, so it won=t even be necessary to drive to the local fueling station to fil l up the car=s hydrogen tan6" hemost e#treme form of this idea has been the suggestion that electrolysis could be performed inside the car itself, which


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hydrogen fires aren=t as hot as gasoline fires and are less li6ely to start secondary fires" And because hydrogen rises,most escaped hydrogen will float away before it can actually do any harm"

And is hydrogen really non$pollutingF A fuel cell produces only heat and water as e#haust, but the processes used tocreate the hydrogen are not necessarily as clean" /lectrolysis uses electricity and that electricity will often come fromplants that burn coal, a highly polluting source" And when hydrogen is e#tracted from natural gas, it produces carbon

emissions, which is e#actly what we=re trying to avoid by using hydrogen in the first place"

9any people thin6 that we=ll overcome these obstacles eventually, but it=s going to be difficult" @thers believe that our bestbet for fuel efficiency and eco$friendly driving in the near future lies not in hydrogen but in hybrid electric vehicles, li6e the

oyota 4rius, the ;ord ;usion hybrid and other similar hybrid cars" +till, it=s possible that within the ne#t couple ofdecades, you Gust might own a hydrogen fuel cell car"

Pros of Alternative Fuel Cars

Biodieselcars. Biodiesel vehicles use a blend of petroleum diesel and vegetable oils. They produce fewercarbon emissions and harmful particulates than standard diesel. In terms of fuel availability, whilebiodiesel outlets may still show short supply nationally, drivers retain the choice of filling up with standarddiesel. Biodiesel is more energy efficient in its production than petroleum products and gives driversbetter fuel costs than regular vehicles.

Ethanolcars. Ethanol-fueled vehicles run on a mixture of gasoline and a propellant derived from grain.There are an increasing number of alternative fuel cars now being supplied for this market. The mostpopular ethanol fuel blend is E85. The name reflects the proportions of 85 percent ethanol to 15 percentgasoline used in the fuel. This makes it an emissions-friendly fuel. It also provides another potentiallylarge and profitable market for farmers.

Hybridcars. Hybrid cars operate using a combination of gasoline power and electric power. In addition tothe gas tank they have an electric battery that stores energy during the speeding and slowing parts of atypical journey. The pros of this type of vehicle include the substantial saving in fuel costs through theengine's efficiency.

Hydrogencars. As a fuel, hydrogen appears to have enormous possibilities. Its pros begin with the fact itcomes from water and is therefore a renewable fuel with inexhaustible supplies and benefits in fuel cost.The exhaust from a hydrogen-fueled car is totally environment-friendly. Hydrogen cars also give thedriver excellent mileage compared to regular gasoline cars.

Cons of Alternative Fuel Cars

Biodieselcars. One of the major cons of biodiesel fuel is its cost, being more expensive to produce thanregular diesel. Another hazard is seen as the temptation for farmers to turn to growing biodiesel plantsrather than food crops. In addition, large-scale farm production would use vast amounts of land.

Ethanolcars. The cons of ethanol-fueled cars include the fact that ethanol contains less energy thangasoline and so delivers less on a gas mileage comparison. Some people also suggest that the

emissions from petrol-based fuels used in producing the grain exceed the ethanol's own emissionbenefits. Hybridcars. The downsides of choosing this vehicle include the considerably higher prices they cost to

buy. There remains doubt about the longevity of the electricity-storing battery. As relatively new vehicles,few have experienced the 10-years plus life that could satisfactorily answer this open question eitherway.

Hydrogencars. The negatives associated with using hydrogen as a vehicle fuel are rather troublesome.Considerable problems have arisen in the practical manufacture of these cars. There are no answers to


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these problems on the immediate horizon. In addition, hydrogen is a very explosive fuel. No completesolutions have yet been found to the safe transport of this fuel to the pump for distribution.

Sustainability o Energy Vehicle :

Sustainable energy use is energy use that meets the needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their energy needs. Achieving sustainable energy use requires that

energy be

Developed from renewable resources

Produced by cleaner, more-efficient technologies

Used more efficiently and with greater conservation

Almost all of the cars and truc s we drive run on fuels derived from oil, which is non-renewable. !hile

there is some debate as to how long this resource will last, we will eventually have to find new ways to

power highway vehicles.

"esearchers are hard at wor e#ploring new fuels and vehicle technologies$

%ybrids , electric vehicles , and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are areas of intense research, along

with efficient technologies for gasoline and diesel vehicles.

"enewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel can help offset petroleum use.

&ther fossil fuels such as coal, shale oil, tar sands, and natural gas are another possibility.

'n the meantime, it ma es sense to use fossil resources such as oil more efficiently to buy time to develop

new and better energy sources and to ma e the transition to these sources smoother and less e#pensive.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridtech.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tech_adv.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/biodiesel.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/biodiesel.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridtech.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tech_adv.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtmlhttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/biodiesel.shtml

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