Biodiesel in United States as Alternative Transportation Fuels

Biodiesel in United States
The United States depends heavily on imported oil to fuel its transportation infrastructure. The use of alternative fuel derived from plant oils was examined by researchers in the mid-1970s to determine if internal combustion engines could be fueled from sources other than petroleum. (more…)

Biodiesel in Europe as Alternative Transportation Fuels

Biodiesel in Europe
Two factors have contributed to an aggressive expansion of the European biodiesel industry. Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to reduce agricultural surpluses was of primary importance. This policy, which provides a substantial subsidy to non-food crop production, stimulated the use of land for non-food purposes. Secondarily, high fuel taxes in European countries normally constitute 50% or more of the retail price of diesel fuel. (more…)

Well-to-Pump Energy Efficiencies

Well-to-Pump
The energy efficiencies of various fuel production pathways from well to pump. The efficiencies shown are defined as the energy in a given fuel (available at pumps in vehicle refueling stations) divided by total energy inputs during all Well-to-Pump activities, including the energy content of the fuel. One way to interpret the Well-to-Pump efficiencies in the figure is as the difference between 100% and the energy efficiencies, which roughly represent energy losses during Well-to-Pump stages for making a given fuel available at the pump. As stated in Section 3, Well-to-Pump activities include biomass feedstock production; feedstock transportation and storage; fuel production; and fuel transportation, storage, and distribution. (more…)

Alternative Transportation Fuels And Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Alternative Fuel Vehicles
At present, in the United States and worldwide, motor vehicles are fueled almost exclusively by petroleum based gasoline (or reformulated gasoline) and diesel fuels. Since the first oil price shock in 1973, efforts have been made to seek alternative fuels to displace gasoline and diesel fuels and achieve energy and environmental benefits. Some of the alternative fuels that have been researched and used are liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol (MeOH), dimethyl ether (DME), Fischer– Tropsch diesel (FTD), hydrogen (H 2 ), ethanol (EtOH), biodiesel, and electricity. Production processes associated with gasoline, diesel, and each of these alternative fuels differ. (more…)

Fuel Pathways And Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Combinations

Vehicle Fuel Efficiency
There are different types of vehicle propulsion systems and the transportation fuels that have been studied for their potential to power the vehicles. Gasoline, CNG, LNG, LPG, methanol, ethanol, and hydrogen can be used in vehicles equipped with conventional spark-ignition (SI) engines. Interest in developing efficient, low-emission, spark-ignition direct-injection (SIDI) engine technologies has heightened in recent years. (more…)

Biodiesel in Japan as Alternative Transportation Fuels

Biodiesel in Japan
Biodiesel is an ester that can be made from substances such as vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel can either be used in its pure state or blended with conventional diesel fuel derived from petroleum. Vegetable oil was used as a diesel fuel as early as 1900, when Rudolf Diesel demonstrated that a diesel engine could run on peanut oil. (more…)

Fuel Cycle Analysis of Vehicles and Transportation Fuels

fuel cycle

The fuel cycle for a given transportation fuel includes the following processes: energy feedstock (or primary energy) production; biomass feedstock transportation and storage; fuel production; fuel transportation, storage, and distribution; and vehicle operations that involve fuel combustion air or other chemical energy conversions. The processes that precede vehicle operations are often referred to as the well-to-pump (WTP) stage, the vehicle operations are referred to as the pump-to-wheels (PTW) stage, and the entire fuel cycle is referred to as the well-to-wheels (WTW) cycle. Various models have been developed that allow researchers to conduct fuel cycle analyses of vehicle/fuel systems. The GREET (greenhouse gases, regulated emissions, and energy transportation) model, developed by Argonne National Laboratory, is in the public domain and, so far, more than 1000 users worldwide have used the model to predict the energy use and emissions associated with alternative fuels vehicles. The GREET model and its documents are posted on the Internet at http:// greet.anl.gov. (more…)

Biodiesel in Canada as Alternative Transportation Fuels

Biodiesel in Canada
For every 100 units of biodiesel fuel produced using this method, there are 11 units of glycerin as a by-product. Glycerin is used in such products as hand creams, toothpaste, and lubricants. Another biodiesel production process in limited use involves cold-pressed rapeseed oil, but no glycerin by-product is produced. Alternatively, unprocessed vegetable oils can be used in modified diesel engines. Such engines have limited production and are therefore more expensive, although their numbers are increasing in Europe. (more…)

Biodiesel in Brazil as Alternative Transportation Fuels

Biodiesel in Brazil
In 1998, several initiatives were implemented in Brazil, aiming to introduce biodiesel into the Brazilian energy matrix. The initiatives included (1) tests performed in South Brazil, using the so-called B20 blend (20% ester and 80% diesel oil), in specific fleets of urban buses, (2) the building of a small-scale pilot plant for biodiesel production from fat and palm oil (largely produced in North Brazil), and (3) laboratory-scale production and tests of biodiesel using soybean oil/sugarcane ethanol. (more…)

Long-Term Biofuel Industry Growth Remains Strong

biofuel industry
Biofuels are made from living matter, plant or animal, and are strongly favored by agricultural interests because of the large boost they bring to domestic farms. Most U.S. biofuels is made from corn (ethanol) or soybeans (biodiesel), although several unusual fuel sources are emerging, including algae and oil waste from deep-frying of foods. The biofuels industry experienced meteoric growth in 2005, 2006 and early 2007, but then it began to slow because of high feedstock prices. Private investment in biofuels finished off 2007 at $2.1 billion, according to ‘Global Trends in Sustainable Energy’, a report by New Energy Finance and United Nations Environmental program. (more…)

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