Alternative fuels

Alternative fuel technologies Guy Geens < [email_address] > http://www.iggyland.com/ http://kanonnenpoetser.blogspot.com/ http://www.slideshare.net/ggeens Barcamp Antwerpen 2010

Baseline: fossil fuels
Advantage
Well-established technology
Vast network of fuel stations
Disadvantage
(Relatively) limited supply
Pollution
CO 2

Improving the combustion engine
Increasing efficiency
Ongoing engineering effort
Theoretical limit: Carnot engine
Reduce toxic emissions
Catalyst
Particle filter
Start/stop
Some improvement, depending on driving profile

Hybrid
Charge a battery during
Deceleration (breaking)
Descending
Excess energy from combustion engine
Use the saved energy to drive an electrical engine
Increases milage
Additional batteries increase weight

Purely electrical engine
Advantage
Silent
No exhaust gasses
Charge at home
Disadvantage
Only as green as the power plant
Limited action radius
Swap-out batteries?
Long recharge times
Weight of batteries

Energy density

More about batteries
Batteries add to the weight of a car
Charging generates heat
Battery technology puts limits on
Load current
Battery lifetime
Duty cycle
Li is low weight
Explosive (somewhat)
Toxic

LPG
Advantage
Standard combustion engine
Less exhaust gasses
Well-known technology
Lower cost
Disadvantage
(Outdated) security measures
Limits availability
And use
Limited supply (fossil fuel)
Still requires gasoline to start

Natural gas (CNG)
Advantage
Lower exhaust
Fill at home
Uses a modified gasoline engine
Safer than gasoline
Disadvantage
No fuel stations available
NG network is not designed for high volumes
Limited supply
Different from petrol

Ethanol
Advantage
Can be produced from waste products
=> no CO 2 during use
Uses a modified combustion engine
Disadvantage
Significant energy cost during production
CO 2 balance can be negative

Hydrogen
Advantage
Exhaust gas is pure water
Disadvantage
Hydrogen needs to be made
Uses energy
Storage and transport issues
H 2 leaks
Safety
Explosive

Thank you for your time Questions?

Alternative fuels

by Guy Geens on Mar 06, 2010

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Alternative fuels — Presentation Transcript