A vision about the future of transport (mostly passenger cars). Main credits to Prof. Sebastian Verhelst from UGent

1. 1
Sustainable Transport
Rational Use of Energy
Francesco Contino
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source: io9.com

2. 2
What is sustainable transport?
source: io9.com
What do you need for transport?
What are the possible solutions?
What should we consider?
Building on requirements
Building on potential
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3. 3
What is sustainable transport?
source: io9.com
What do you need for transport?
What are the possible solutions?
What should we consider?
Building on requirements
Building on potential
Follow us

4. 4
What is sustainable transport?( )

5. Transport is mainly by road
5
Final energy consumption (Mtoe, EU 2010)
All sectors 1153
Transport 365
Road 300
Air 50
Rail 7
Water 8
32%
82%

6. 6
What is sustainable transport?
Transport is sustainable if…

7. Fuel stock is replenished or no change on
the time scale of humanity
7
Fuel stock replenished
biomass
No change of stock
at our time scale
source: wikipedia.com

8. Fuel stock is replenished or no change on
the time scale of humanity
8

9. Fuel stock is replenished or no change on
the time scale of humanity
9
Unconventional oil extends the reserves
Oil sands
Oil shale
Gas conversion (Fischer Tropsch)Canadian Tar Sands:
World’s largest earthmoving operation
Truck is bigger
than a house,
costs $5M.
~5 tons of sand
and peat moved
and ~1 barrel of
wastewater
produced
per barrel of
oil.
At 2 mbd, that is
a lot of polluted
water!
Aerial view of one of the Tar Sand upgrading facilities

10. CO2 is taking care of
= 0 net emissions
10
Either 0 emissions
local and global
Or CO2 is recycled
how?

11. CO2 is taking care of
= 0 net emissions
11
We have a challenging target :
-60% by 2050 compared to 1990
source:europa.eu

12. There is no local effect
12
Welcome in Brussels 1900
watch out where you are walking

13. There is no local effect
13
Welcome in Brussels 2015
watch out where you are breathing

14. There is no local effect
14

15. Materials can be recycled
15
Like CO2,
materials should be recovered
Directive 2000/53/EC
95% target of car mass recycling
but still some issues with batteries
Research project in Burn group:
Phoebus (Dr. Coussement, Prof. Parente)
recycling car plastics to make fuel

16. 16
What is sustainable transport?
source: io9.com
What do you need for transport?
What are the possible solutions?
What should we consider?
Building on requirements
Building on potential
Follow us

17. Transport, as we use it, needs to have
sustainability, autonomy, and scalability
17
autonomy: the giga joule threshold
scalability: the giga cars threshold
sustainability: the giga years threshold?

18. To maintain autonomy,
it should be compact
18
Need to carry around 1 GJ
for current functionality of cars
Need a fuel with >>10kJ/g
Weight of this autonomy (fuel)
should be lower than 100 kg

19. 19
43 of 42
Elements with enthalpy of oxidation > 10 kJ g-1

20. 20
44 of 42
Elements with non-solid oxides

21. 21
45 of 42
Elements with enthalpy of oxidation > 10 kJ g-1 and non- solid (or non-toxic) oxides.
Hydrogen and Carbon

22. source: wikipedia
MJ/kg
MJ/l
Energy density of the fuel is important
22

23. source: Jiang et al., 2010
Energy density of the system even more
23

24. Energy density of the system even more
24
source: xkcd.com
Fuel tank AA batteries

25. The solutions are scalable
25
source: Elysium, 2013
Work for the majority
Not only for privileged
Easy access to materials
Alternative to China:
Afghanistan $1 trillion
1 000 000 000 000 $

26. 600 US
44 China
The solutions are scalable
26
1960 2012 2035
125
1000
2000
Millions of cars
source: Stacy et al., 2014
??
Any solution should
meet the demand
# per 1000 persons

27. Scalability also means using
the “legacy infrastructure”
27
source: thesun.co.uk
source: suncountryhighway.ca

28. What about other forms of transport
28
Professional transport:
more constraints on the user is possible
Air: big limit on weight
Marine: very flexible and no constraint
on weight and volume but well on emissions
source: solarimpulse.com

29. 29
What is sustainable transport?
source: io9.com
What do you need for transport?
What are the possible solutions?
What should we consider?
Building on requirements
Building on potential
Follow us

30. 30
How much power do we need
to sustain our daily life?

31. 31
How much power do we need
to sustain our daily life?
17 terawatt
17 000 000 000 000 W
540 1018 J / year (exajoule)
31.5 106 s / year

32. 32
What are the possible solutions?

33. The best energy is the one not consumed
33
changing habits
signs of accomplishments
logistics
Working locally: improving the top/mean efficiency
new combustion technologies
hybridation and electrification
downsizing, downspeeding traditional engines
lightweight vehicles
Working globally: reducing overall consumption

34. What is the potential from renewable energy
34
Current consumption: 17 TW
Biomass: 7 TW
Hydraulic: 7 TW
Wave: 14 TW
Geothermal: 44 TW
Wind: 72 TW
Solar: 85000 TW far, far away…
source: Verhelst, UBIA

35. What is the potential from renewable energy
35
Map data ©2015 Google 500 m
Total distance: 5 km (3.1 mi)
TrafBc, Bicycling, Terrain, Directions

36. What is the potential from renewable energy
36
Biomass
Hydraulic
Wave
Geothermal
Wind
Solar
Primary energy sources
fuel

37. Fuels from biomass are already used
37
In 2010 in the world , 100 109 liters
2.7% of the fuel used for road transport
Ethanol : ~80%
90% of production
in the US and Brazil
EU Renewable energy directive (2009/28)
target for 2020 : >10% of biofuels in transport
EU Fuel quality directive (2009/30) includes
criteria for sustainable biofuel production
Biodiesel : ~20%
2/3 of production
in Europe

38. Jean Ziegler, Special Rapporteur
on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008
27 octobre 2007:
« It's a crime against humanity
to convert agricultural productive
soil into soil ... which will be
burned into biofuel... What has
to be stopped is ... the growing
catastrophe of the massacre (by)
hunger in the world. »
But they don’t have a good reputation
38

39. But they don’t have a good reputation
39

40. Biofuels are not sustainable by default
40
85
51
48
17
sans LUC avec LUC ref. fossile
111
gCO2eq/MJ
source : JRC, 2010
Direct and indirect
LUC
Great uncertainty
Amortization scheme?
mix of biofuels
gCO2eq/MJ
111
51
48
17
85
without LUC with LUC fossil ref.
20 years selected by EU

41. Next generations, new hope?
41
Biofuels from non food crops
Big potential but the limits remain
lignocellulose, algae, jatropha, hemp, …
we still need food for a growing population
photosynthesis efficiency (0.5-2%)
accessible land/water
environmental risk?

42. What is the potential from renewable energy
42
Biomass
Hydraulic
Wave
Geothermal
Wind
Solar
Primary energy sources
fuel or electricity
electricity

43. Electricity from the sun,
not as you might think
43
Production is energy intensive
Some material needed are rare
Recycling?
Low level/well known tech.
No rare material
High efficiency

44. Electric cars THE solution for everybody?
44

45. Electric cars are very efficient,
clean, and flexible
45
Well-to-wheel efficiency: 2x gasoline
No local emissions (from combustion)
tires? brakes?
Very flexible: electricity can be produced
by many sources and existing infrastructure
can be used

46. Electric cars are not the best option (yet)
46
Rare materials, what about recycling
Scalability
Existing infrastructure cannot sustain
electric vehicles at full scale
Sustainability
Life time?
Autonomy
Energy density of batteries are low

47. source: adapted from Verhelst, UBIA
The same autonomy (with packaging)
47
gasoline 60 kg
1150 kg
800 kg

48. What is the potential from renewable energy
48
Biomass
Hydraulic
Wave
Geothermal
Wind
Solar
Primary energy sources
fuel or electricity
electricity fuel

49. Electricity can be converted in many fuels
49
electricity H2
water
used as fuel

50. Fuel cells are very efficient
50
High efficiency
up to 70%
Use H2 and
produce H2O

51. Fuel cells are expensive, and not scalable
51
Production cost is very high
Life-time?
Need Platinum => scalable?

52. We can use the traditional engine instead
52
Well known technology
Dual fuel gasoline/H2
Scalable

53. H2 has a low energy density
53

54. source: adapted from Verhelst, UBIA
The same autonomy (with packaging)
54
gasoline 60 kg
1150 kg
100 kg

55. H2 storage is expensive
55
about 10000€

56. Electricity can be converted in many fuels
56
electricity H2
water
capture of CO2
used as fuel
CH4, methanol, …
capture of N2
ammonia (NH3)

57. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
is already used but same issues than H2
57
Already commercial
for production cars
Problem of storage: even at 200 bars
low energy density compared to liquids

58. Ammonia is easily produced and stored
58
Easy to store:
Liquid at 9 bars and ambient T
Storage similar to LPG
Does not required CO2 capture
N2 in high concentration
in the atmosphere

59. But still some combustion issue
to use it efficiently
59
Laminar flame velocity (cm/s)
ammonia
gasoline 42
8
Ignition energy (mJ)
ammonia
gasoline 0.25
14
electrostatic discharge
20-30 mJ

60. Research work focuses
on how to mix it with H2
60
source: Koike et al., 2012
Laminar flame velocity (cm/s)
ammonia
gasoline 42
8
hydrogen 291

61. Methanol is a very good contender
61
Easy storage (liquid)
Easy mixture with
gasoline or ethanol
Potential for higher engine efficiency:
high octane number, high evaporation heat
Can be used as a drop-in fuel

62. Methanol is a very good contender
62
Easy storage (liquid)
Easy mixture with
gasoline or ethanol
Potential for higher engine efficiency:
high octane number, high evaporation heat
Can be used as a drop-in fuel

63. Dimethylether for diesel
63
Dimethylether (CH3OCH3)
similar to diesel (high cetane number)
Better combustion (no C-C)
Investigated for trucks and marine engines

64. 64
What is sustainable transport?
source: io9.com
What do you need for transport?
What are the possible solutions?
What should we consider?
Building on requirements
Building on potential
Follow us

65. 65
Sustainable Transport
Rational Use of Energy
Francesco Contino
Follow us

66. 66
source: xkcd.com

67. References:
67
Sebastian Verhelst, UGent, UBIA, 2014