Transportation Options for the US and the World

1. Transportation Options for the US and the World Jason Woods Mechanical Engineering University of Colorado at Boulder MCEN1201: Sustainable Energy

2. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles • US transportation is dominated by the personal vehicle Percent Energy Use in the US Transportation Sector by Mode Transportation Options

3. Petroleum use for US Transportation Transportation Options

4. Global Perspective Transportation Options

5. Energy Options • Petroleum • Natural Gas • Nuclear • Synthetic Fuels • Biomass • Coal and Natural Gas • Renewables • Wind, Solar, Hydro, Geothermal • Electric Vehicles • All of the above • Petroleum • Natural Gas • Nuclear • Synthetic Fuels • Biomass • Coal and Natural Gas • Renewables • Wind, Solar, Hydro, Geothermal • Electric Vehicles • All of the above Transportation Options

6. Wind Powered Vehicles? Transportation Options

7. Transportation Energy Options • Petroleum based fuels • Solar • Alternative Fuels • Biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel) • Hydrogen • Gaseous Fuels • Natural gas • Synthetic gas from coal / biomass gasification • Electric vehicles Transportation Options

8. Current System: Oil • Besides being a limited resource with environmental impacts, oil is AWESOME! • Easily transportable • Easily refined into (relatively) clean burning fuels • World Reserves estimated at 48,500 Billion Gallons • Current World Use: 1,200 Billion Gallons per Year • Not much at current rates of consumption, but think about it… 48,500,000,000,000 Gallons of oil. • Oil has a number of other uses • Lubricants, plastics, coolants, paints, roads, fertilizers… Transportation Options

9. Current System: Oil • Energy Density: Measure of usable energy per mass (or volume) of fuel • Gasoline: 34.6 MJ / L • It takes 98 tons of buried prehistoric plant material to make just one gallon of gasoline. -Jeff Dukes, University of Utah Transportation Options

10. Solar Powered Cars • Photovoltaic cells are becoming increasingly important in stationary electricity generation. • What about for Vehicles? • Power Density: Measure of how much power can be produced per mass (or volume) of energy source • Honda Accord: 165 hp • UMC Solar Array: 7.5 kW =10 hp Transportation Options

11. Transportation Energy Options • Solar • Alternative Fuels • Biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel) • Hydrogen • Gaseous Fuels • Natural gas • Synthetic gas from coal / biomass gasification • Electric Vehicles Transportation Options

12. Alternative Fuel Vehicles • Chicken and egg problem • Who will build and buy AFVs if a fueling infrastructure is not in place…. • Who will build the fueling infrastructure before the AFVs are built Transportation Options

13. Fuel from Non-fossilized Plants and Animals • Ethanol from crops (corn, wheat, sugarcane) • Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI) • Current inputs into growing crops in the US • Fertilizer (fossil fuels) • Pesticides (fossil fuels) • Electricity, machinery, transportation, etc. • Not to mention energy required to convert corn kernals into a liquid that can be burned in your car • Fuel vs. food ? • Difficult to replace 120 million gallons of oil used per day in the US with ethanol from corn Transportation Options

14. Fuel from Non-fossilized Plants and Animals • Biodiesel • Oil crops (rapeseed, soybeans) • Used cooking oil • Problems with biodiesel • Feedstock availability • Chicken and Egg problem • Difficult to use 100% biodiesel in some of the current diesel applications • Problems using biodiesel at low temperatures Transportation Options

15. Hydrogen Fuel • Hydrogen is NOT and energy source…it is an energy carrier. • Hydrogen must be produced • Steam reforming of hydrocarbons • Doesn’t substitute fossil fuels • Electrolysis of water • Uses electricity…but where does this electricity come from? • High Temperature Thermochemical cycles • Currently being researched • Need source to create high temperatures ( > 600oC ) Transportation Options

16. Hydrogen Fuel • Storage and Distribution Issues • Energy Density of hydrogen • Gaseous • Compressed • Liquid • Significant costs to go from gaseous to compressed to liquid • Storing a gas is inherently more difficult than storing a liquid Transportation Options

17. Hydrogen Fuel • “Of all AFVs and alternative fuels, fuel cell vehicles running on hydrogen are probably the least likely to be a cost-effective solution to global warming[.]” Joseph Romm Center for Energy and Climate Solutions Energy Policy (2006) Transportation Options

18. Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles • Using the benefits of liquid fuels to offset the disadvantages of using completely electric vehicles • Significantly increased range • Elimination of requirement to charge battery before every trip • Specific power (W/kg) and specific energy (Wh/kg) of the battery are important to keep added weight low Transportation Options

19. Plug-in Hybrids: Friends of the Grid • PHEV can be charged at night, when baseload plants have excess capacity • They can also be used to meet peak loads during the day, reducing the need for peaking plants and “spinning” reserves Transportation Options

20. Energy Densities (MJ / L) Transportation Options

21. Energy Densities (MJ / kg) Transportation Options

22. Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles Transportation Options

23. Personal Observations Transportation Options

24. Is there a much simpler solution? • “Fuel use could be reduced by decreased use of the car and increased use of not only the bus but also alternative modes of transportation, including (but not limited to) the bicycle, skateboard, and Chevro-legs.” South Pacific • “The two easiest ways to reduce gasoline consumption are to live close to where you need to be and to use alternate forms of transportation.” South Paki-frica • “…we recommend using a bicycle to reduce gasoline consumption.” Himalayas • “…If or when people do travel, do it efficiently (car pool, direct routes…).” Oil & Turkey Transportation Options

25. Conclusions • Short Term Solutions: • Conservation, efficiency, behavioral changes • Long Term Solutions: • Improvements in technologies needed • Ethanol from Cellulose • Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles • Battery Improvements • Incentive to get infrastructure • Hydrogen Economy? Transportation Options