Ethanol or biodiesel? Fuel cell or electric? The term ‘fill her up!’ is taking on a whole new meaning.
Car drivers are starting to think that changing the type of energy their vehicles consume is one way of contributing to the battle against climate change.
Canadians, with a few exceptions, have been driving cars that have internal combustion engines for over 100 years.
The fuels of choice: gasoline or diesel. The result: 25 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gases come from transportation activities.
Gasoline cars produce a cocktail of greenhouse and smog producing gases. Smog producing pollutants can be controlled by such devices as catalytic converters that can break down the chemical release of pollutants into the atmosphere.
Governments can force carmakers to reduce smog-producing effects in cars but the only way to reduce greenhouse gases is by burning less fuel.
There are many forms of ‘clean energy’ that can be used to fuel our sources of transportation. Each presents its problems and challenges with regards to environmental impact and cost.
Here is a preview of what is being worked on to fuel the cars of tomorrow. They’ll be here sooner than you think.
Fuel cells and hydrogen
Fuel cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy by combining hydrogen or hydrogen-containing fuels and oxygen from the air. Hydrogen can be extracted from thousands of compounds, including natural gas, water, sugar and many petroleum products.
The extraction of hydrogen requires energy, making hydrogen an energy carrier rather than an energy source.
Many large automakers such as Ford are currently experimenting with hydrogen technologies in such models as the Ford Focus FCV.
Pros:
– Vehicles powered by fuel cells that utilize pure hydrogen as fuel have no tailpipe emissions except for heat and water vapour.
– Using hydrogen-powered fuel cells can also reduce pollutants that contribute to urban air-quality problems because fuel cells don’t produce any particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide or volatile organic compounds.
Cons:
– Costs are currently too high to introduce fuel cell technology to the mass market.
– A massive infrastructure will have to be produced to service hydrogen cars.
-Hydrogen indirectly increases greenhouse gases by increasing the lifetime of direct greenhouse gases such as methane.
The U.S. congress recently proposed a bill to extend a 30 per cent tax credit on hydrogen fuel cell equipment to hydrogen fuel until 2013. It hopes this will make it a viable source of energy in the near future.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is an alternative to diesel fuel that is made from vegetable oils, waste cooking oil, animal fats or tall oil – a waste product from pulp and paper processing.
Compared to conventional diesel, biodiesel combusts better and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
Pros:
– Pure biodiesel is clean burning renewable fuel that produces much less emissions than regular diesel.
– It can be used in most current diesel engines.
– Pure biodiesel is essentially free of sulphur and aromatics, so its exhaust smells better than that of petroleum diesel gas; it actually smells like french fries or popcorn.
Cons:
-Much of the current production of biodiesel is made from agricultural products which carry their own costs in energy and pollution.
-Biodiesel is often mixed with petroleum to help it burn better, which reduces the benefits to the environment. It also emits 10 per cent more nitrogen oxide, which contributes to smog.
– It is still in the infant stages and more tests need to be done. Critics argue that because it uses the same technology as regular petrol – the internal combustion engine – it is essentially a pollutant and must be discarded as an eco-friendly alternative to diesel.
Biodiesel has been tested in American cities like Berkley, California. The results are, so far, inconclusive.
Some of the city trucks that used pure biodiesel developed a bacteria mold that stopped them from running.
The city has now switched to ultra low sulphur diesel, a pollutant that emits more hydrocarbons, which contribute to global warning.
Ethanol
Ethanol is a biofuel derived from plants, most commonly sugar cane or corn. It can also come from wheat and agri-forest feedstock.
It is then usually mixed with gasoline. In the U.S. an 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent gasoline mixture called E85 is the standard that can be used in flex-fuel internal combustion engines.
An E10 blend from corn -10 per cent ethanol and 90 per cent gasoline – produces about three to four per cent lower emissions than gasoline and costs about the same.
In Canada there are about 1,000 ethanol service stations.
Pros:
– Ethanol is produced from a renewable energy resource.
– Production of ethanol would become a large source of income for many Canadians, particularly in rural locations by creating new markets for Canadian farmers and forest companies.
-The E85 blend from agricultural cellulose would produce 75 per cent fewer emissions than petrol.
Cons:
-The net effects of reductions in greenhouse gases are greatly diminished by the use of natural gas to create ethanol.
– Ethanol remains dependant on the internal combustion engine.
– Its reduced fuel efficiency causes consumers to purchase more of it. The increased consumption can thus offset the effects of reduced emissions.
The Canadian government has introduced programs such as the Ethanol Expansion Program to increase the percentage of gasoline in Canada that is blended with ethanol from seven per cent in 2003 to 35 per cent by 2010.
Regionally, it could become the fuel of choice for countries with large agricultural industries such as Canada, the U.S. and Brazil.
Hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) combine a battery with a conventional internal combustion engine.
They offer the extended driving range and rapid refueling of conventional vehicles along with many of the energy and environmental benefits of electric vehicles.
Plug-in hybrids have also been created though none are currently available on the market.
Pros:
-The emissions produced by HEVs are much lower than conventional gasoline vehicles.
– Hybrids are becoming mainstream and affordable for a large part of the Western World.
– Better battery technology will mean that hybrids will be able to run for longer amounts of time on electricity rather than gas.
Cons:
– Hybrids still rely on internal combustion engine technology and gasoline.
– Many large hybrids have high gas mileage, which does not greatly reduce fuel economy.
Manufacturers are promising to develop of more hybrids in the near future. As production rates increase, costs are expected to decrease.
Battery-Electric vehicles
Battery-electric vehicles are powered by motors that draw electricity from on-board storage batteries, which act as an ‘engine’ to propel it.
Electric vehicles don’t produce pollution from the tailpipe or through fuel evaporation, which means they have great potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and smog-forming pollutants.
Pros:
– They produce no greenhouse gases or chemicals that create smog.
– In Quebec, the cost of driving an electric car is almost nine times lower than driving a fuel efficient Honda Civic.
– Electric cars require less maintenance than gasoline cars.
Cons:
-Electric cars have batteries that need to be recharged often, sometimes up to eight hours at a time.
– Electric cars are not an option for long distance driving. The most advanced batteries can only last for about 300km. These are still too expensive for mass production.
– Critics say the source of electricity, such as burning coal, can create more pollution than zero emission electric cars. However in Canada, 60 per cent of electric power is created using renewable energy.
The electric car has many advocates and even a documentary, Who killed the electric car? dedicated to it.
According to its advocates, it isn’t the technology of tomorrow, it is the technology of today.
Batteries and public acceptance remain the greatest obstacle to introducing more types of electric cars to the market.
For eco-friendly cars to become the standard, it will take a change of attitude in governments, carmakers and consumers.
Which source of energy will prevail? Look for the answer in next week’s article.
