Publications

Biomass Energy Data Book, Edition 2

12/1/2009

The Biomass Energy Data Book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize the biomass industry, from the production of biomass feedstocks to their end use. This first edition is currently only available online in electronic format. The first section is an introduction, which provides an overview of biomass resources and consumption. Section 2 covers ethanol, biodiesel, BioOil. Section 3 covers use of biomass for electrical power generation and heating. Section 4 covers the developing area of biorefineries. Section 5 discusses feedstocks that are produced and used in the biomass industry. The sources used represent the latest available data. Three appendices include measures of conversions, biomass characteristics, and assumptions for selected tables and figures.

Authors: Wright, L.; Boundy, B.; Perlack, B.; Davis, S.; Saulsbury, B.

Notes: This 2nd edition of the Biomass Energy Data Book is currently available online in electronic format.

Clean Cities Annual Metrics Report 2008

9/1/2009

Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) asks Clean Cities coordinators to submit an annual report of their activities and accomplishments for the previous calendar year. Approximately 412 million gallons of gasoline were displaced through the Clean Cities efforts in 2008?14% more than in 2007. This displacement represents the combined results of the activities reported by coalitions (as analyzed by NREL) and the impacts of the Fuel Economy Guide and related activities (as estimated by ORNL). Three major changes were made to the Clean Cities survey this year: E10 is no longer counted toward petroleum displacement goals, coordinators no longer relied on a default assumption for the percent of time flex-fueled vehicles used alternative fuel, and B20 was moved from the AFV to the blends category. The first of these changes substantially reduced the reported petroleum displacement by blends from what they otherwise would have been in 2008. AFVs still accounted for the largest share (48%) of the total 412-million-gallon displacement. Fuel economy impacts (combined impacts of coalition and ORNL activity) were responsible for displacing 129 million gallons. The use of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) as fuels for AFVs and in low-level biodiesel blends displaced 100 million gallons, or 24% of the total, and idle reduction and HEV technologies combined to displace 20 million gallons. 2008 was the first year that greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions were estimated for Clean Cities activities. The program kept a total of 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from being emitted to the atmosphere?the equivalent of removing over 507,000 passenger cars from U.S. roads.

Authors: Bergeron, P.; Johnson, C.

Field Testing Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles with Charge Control Technology in the Xcel Energy Territory

8/1/2009

This report outlines the results of a joint study by Xcel Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to understand the fuel displacement potential, costs, and emissions impacts of the market introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The goal of the current effort was to evaluate, under real-world conditions, the performance attributes of PHEVs with charge control technology in the Xcel Energy service territories. The intention was to expand our knowledge of PHEV benefits, consumer usage, and utility opportunities and challenges.

Authors: Markel, T.; Bennion, K; Kramer, W.; Bryan, J.; Giedd, J.

Hybrid Taxis Give Fuel Economy a Lift

4/1/2009

Clean Cities helped Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Antonio, Texas, create hybrid taxi programs that cut gasoline use and air pollution while pleasing drivers and passengers alike.

Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool

11/1/2008

The Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool helps fleets, consumers, and business owners create a strategy to reudce conventional fuel use in fleet and personal vehicles. This interactive tool allows users to evaluate and calculate petroleum reductions by choosing one or a combination of methods.

Full Fuel-Cycle Comparison of Forklift Propulsion Systems

10/14/2008

This report examines forklift propulsion systems and addresses the potential energy and environmental implications of substituting fuel cell propulsion for existing technologies based on batteries and fossil fuels. Industry data and the Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model are used to estimate full fuel-cycle emissions and use of primary energy sources. Also considered are other environmental concerns at work locations. The benefits derived from using fuel cell propulsion are determined by the sources of electricity and hydrogen. In particular, fuel cell forklifts using hydrogen made from the reforming of natural gas had lower impacts than those using hydrogen from electrolysis.

Authors: Gaines, L.L.; Elgowainy, A.; Wang, M.Q.

An Experimental and Modeling Study of the Flammability of Fuel Tank Headspace Vapors from High Ethanol Content Fuels

10/1/2008

An experimental and modeling study was done to determine the flammability of fuel tank headspace vapors as a function of ambient temperature for seven E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) fuel blends, two types of gasoline, and denatured ethanol at a low tank fill level. Samples in small, closed chambers were tested simultaneously in a cold chamber to determine flammability and pressure rise when ignited by a strong electric spark. Gasoline and E85 fuels were flammable below a critical temperature; above it, the vapor was too rich to burn. Denatured ethanol was flammable at room temperature and colder, down to a critical temperature; below it, the vapor was too lean to burn. The flammability limit temperature of the E85 and gasoline fuels related to the dry vapor pressure equivalent (DVPE), but DVPE did not reliably rank the low-temperature flammability hazards of fuel tank headspace vapors when conventional gasolines were compared with alcohol blends.

Authors: Gardiner, D.; Bardon, M.; Pucher, G.

Clean Cities Annual Metrics Report 2007

9/1/2008

This report summarizes the Department of Energy's Clean Cities coalition accomplishments in 2007, including petroleum displacement data, membership, funding, sales of alternative fuel blends, deployment of AFVs and HEVs, idle reduction initiatives, and fuel economy activities.

Authors: Johnson, C.; Bergeron, P.

Long Beach Transit: Two-Year Evaluation of Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Transit Buses

6/1/2008

This report is part of a series of evaluations from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). DOE, through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been tracking and evaluating new propulsion systems in transit buses and trucks for more than 10 years using an established and documented evaluation protocol. This report is part of a series of evaluations from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). DOE, through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been tracking and evaluating new propulsion systems in transit buses and trucks for more than 10 years using an established and documented evaluation protocol.

Authors: Lammert, M.

Impact of Battery Characteristics on PHEV Fuel Economy

5/12/2008

The most significant technical barrier to developing commercially viable plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is the energy storage system. The challenge is to develop batteries that are able to meet both the requirements imposed by a PHEV system and market expectations of the system's cost and length of life. In this context, a vehicle systems approach is needed to investigate the operational requirements specific to PHEV technology. This paper describes work in which several tools were used to evaluate the impacts of various parameters on PHEV fuel economy. First, the impacts of the battery's energy and power were evaluated by using a global optimization algorithm. Then the impact of temperature was assessed by using two complementary approaches to evaluate battery hardware: simulation in an emulated vehicle system and actual vehicle testing.

Authors: Rousseau, A.; Shidore, N.; Carlson, Richard; Karbowski, D.

Options for Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles in Greensburg, Kansas

5/1/2008

After a devastating tornado that destroyed the town of Greensburg, Kansas in May 2007, plans were developed to rebuild the town as a sustainable community. This report focuses on outlining key success factors of infrastructure, alternative vehicles, and alternative and renewable fuels as part of an integrated energy strategy.

Authors: Harrow, G.

Analysis of the Efficiency of the U.S. Ethanol Industry 2007

3/27/2008

In 2007, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) conducted a survey of US ethanol production plants to provide an assessment of the current US ethanol industry. The survey covers plant operations in both corn dry mills and wet mills. In particular, it includes plant type, ownership structure, capacity, feedstocks, production volumes, coproducts,process fuel and electricity usage, water consumption, and products transportation and distribution. The survey response was based on year 2006 data. At the request of RFA, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has performed a statistical analysis of the survey data, as an in-kind effort, under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between ANL and RFA. During November 2007 and January 2008, ANL processed and analyzed the raw data for statistics. This extended technical memo serves as an official documentation to summarize ANL?s analysis.

Authors: Wu, May

Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - January 2008

1/1/2008

The January 2008 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between Jan. 21 and Jan. 31, 2008, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.

Table 1 illustrates that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has risen 23 cents to $2.99 per gallon; CNG has risen 16 cents to $1.93; and ethanol (E85) has risen 11 cents to $2.51 per gallon.

Authors: Laughlin, M.D.

BAE/Orion Hybrid Electric Buses at New York City Transit

1/1/2008

This report is part of a series of evaluation from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) at NREL. The role of AVTA is to bridge the gap between research and development and the commercial availability for advanced vehicle technologies that reduce petroleum use while meeting air quality standards.

DOE/NREL evaluated the original 10 prototype diesel-hybrid buses from Orion and BAE Systems operated by the New York City Transit Co. (NYCT) The next report focused on 10 new compressed natural gas (CNG) and 10 next generation diesel hybrid electric buses. In the present evaluation, the focus is on hybrid-electric transit buses (equipped with BAE Systems' HybriDrive propulsion system) purchased by NYCT in an order group of 200 (Gen II), and their performance during their first year of service.

Authors: Barnitt, R.

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007

12/19/2007

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 put into law many of the provisions of Executive Order 13423. The goal of the EISA law is to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government.