Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
2/1/2011
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles can play an important role in the portfolio of sustainable transportation fuel options, reduce dependence on imported oil and enable global economic leadership for America.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, January 2011
2/1/2011
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for January 2011 is a quarterly report 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 January 24, 2011 and February 7, 2011, 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 reports that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has risen 30 cents per gallon from $2.78 per gallon to $3.08 per gallon; CNG price has remained the same at $1.93; and ethanol (E85) has risen 31 cents from $2.44 to $2.75 per gallon. CNG is about $1.15 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 81 cents more per gallon than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Practical Plan for Progress
2/1/2011
This report examines public policies toward plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) including all electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It examines the pros and cons of PEVs, recent improvements in battery technology, market dynamics, and the proliferation of policies around the world that promote the use of PEVs. The focus is primarily near term (i.e., 2011-25), recognizing that the transportation electrification process will evolve in stages based on lessons learned in the years ahead. The report represents the views of the Transport Electrification Panel (TEP), a group of experts from multiple disciplines and organizations commissioned by the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
FedEx Express Gasoline Hybrid Electric Delivery Truck Evaluation: 12-Month Report
1/1/2011
This document presents the final results of a technology evaluation of gasoline hybrid electric parcel delivery trucks operated by FedEx Express in and around Los Angeles, California. FedEx Express is a large commercial fleet that operates more than 30,000 motorized vehicles and has hybrid electric (diesel and gasoline) vehicles currently in service. FedEx Express has deployed 20 gasoline hybrid electric vehicles (gHEVs) on parcel delivery routes in the Sacramento and Los Angeles areas. These gHEVs (Figure 1) are built upon a Ford E-450 strip chassis, and each vehicle is powered by a Ford 5.4L gasoline engine and Azure Dynamics, Inc. (AZD) Balance Hybrid System. Additional vehicle information is discussed in subsequent sections, while the specifics of the hybrid system evaluated are presented in Table 1. FedEx Express was the domestic launch customer for the AZD Balance Hybrid electric product.
Authors: Barnitt, R.
Clean Cities 2011 Vehicle Buyer's Guide
1/1/2011
Guidebook to available Model Year 2011 alternative fuel and advanced vehicles including electric, plug-in electric and hybrid electric vehicles as well as vehicles powered by natural gas, propane, ethanol and biodiesel.
Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policy
1/1/2011
Renewable Fuel Standard evaluates the economic and environmental consequences of increasing biofuels production as a result of Renewable Fuels Standard, as amended by EISA (RFS2). The report describes biofuels produced in 2010 and those projected to be produced and consumed by 2022, reviews model projections and other estimates of the relative impact on the prices of land, and discusses the potential environmental harm and benefits of biofuels production and the barriers to achieving the RFS2 consumption mandate.
Notes: Book available for purchase from The National Academies Press
Effect of Saturated Monoglyceride Polymorphism on Low-Temperature Performance of Biodiesel
1/1/2011
Journal article in Energy and Fuels. Vol. 25(1) 20 January 2011, pp. 398-405.
To investigate precipitates above the cloud point (CP) in biodiesel, three saturated monoglycerides (SMGs), monomyristin, monopalmitin, and monostearin, were spiked into distilled soy and animal fat-derived B100. It was shown that above a threshold or eutectic concentration the SMGs significantly raise the CP of B100. A comparison to published data suggests that commercial B100 has SMG content in the same range as the eutectic point. SMGs have an even greater impact on the final melting temperature (FMT, as measured when the sample is heated) at concentrations above the eutectic point. These results were verified and visualized using a controlled temperature stage microscope. It was shown that the FMT was highly dependent on the rate of heating. It is hypothesized that a lower melting point crystalline form of the SMG forms upon rapid cooling and then transforms into a more stable, higher melting point crystalline form when slowly heated or held at constant temperature. The CP and FMT results of this study were compared to an ideal solution thermodynamic model. The model was able to provide reasonable prediction of the eutectic point but was less successful at predicting CP and FMT above the eutectic.
Authors: Chupka, G. M.; Yanowitz, J.; Chiu, G.; Alleman, T. L.; McCormick, R. L.
Vehicle Technologies Program: Goals, Strategies, and Top Accomplishments
12/1/2010
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Program (VTP) is meeting this American dependence on oil with an integrated portfolio of advanced vehicle and fuel research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities. VTP accomplishes this work in collaboration with industryleaders, national laboratories, universities, state and local governments, and other stakeholders--harnessing a vast resource of expertise to help technologies developed in the laboratory make the transition to commercially successful products.
Dispensing Equipment Testing with Mid-Level Ethanol/Gasoline Test Fluid
11/1/2010
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Nonpetroleum-Based Fuel Task addresses the hurdles to commercialization of biomass-derived fuels and fuel blends. One such hurdle is the unknown compatibility of new fuels withcurrent infrastructure, such as the equipment used at service stations to dispense fuel into automobiles. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Vehicle Technology Program and the Biomass Program have engaged in a joint project to evaluate the potential for blending ethanol into gasoline at levels higher than nominal 10 volume percent. This project was established to help DOE andNREL better understand any potentially adverse impacts caused by a lack of knowledge about the compatibility of the dispensing equipment with ethanol blends higher than what the equipment was designed to dispense. This report provides data about the impact of introducing a gasoline with a higher volumetric ethanol content into service station dispensing equipment from a safety and a performance perspective.
Authors: Boyce, K.; Chapin, J. T.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2010
11/1/2010
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for October 2010 is a quarterly report 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 October 4, 2010 and October 14, 2010, 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 reports that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has risen 7 cents per gallon from $2.71 per gallon to $2.78 per gallon; CNG price has risen 2 cents from $1.91 to $1.93; and ethanol (E85) has risen 14 cents from $2.30 to $2.44 per gallon. CNG is about 85 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 67 cents more per gallon than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
To Idle or Not to Idle: That is the Question
11/1/2010
Should I idle my car to warm it up before I drive? Should I shut the engine off while waiting to pick up a passenger or for a train to go by? Is it better to pick up food at a drive-through or to park and go into the restaurant? These are common questions that people ask when they want to know more about how to drive "green." There are conflicting answers in the literature, which has led to confusion. This poster presents the results of measurements performed on both diesel and gasoline passenger vehicles at Argonne National Laboratory. The answers are found to depend on vehicle type, ambient temperature, time, local laws, and what criteria are used to define "green."
Improving Truck Efficiency and Reducing Idling
10/1/2010
Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) authorized this study into improving heavy-duty vehicle efficiency while reducing idling. Appendixes include a comparison of idle reduction technologies, a compendium of idling regulationsl, state and federal anti-idling initiatives, and various idle reduction technologies.
DEQ recommends that the 2011 Oregon Legislature authorize the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt regulations substantially similar to California?s heavy-duty greenhouse gas measure, including provisions for financial hardship deferrals, with adequate lead-time and notice to all affected parties. The details of this recommendation begin on page 35 of this report. DEQ also recommends that the 2011 Legislature authorize the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt regulations limiting unnecessary idling by commercial vehicles, incorporating the major elements of the US Environmental Protection Agency Model Idling Law that itself was the result of a national stakeholder consensus to provide effective, realistic and uniform controls on unnecessary idling across the country.
Authors: Downing, K.; Matthews, S.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, July 2010
9/1/2010
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for July 2010 is a quarterly report 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 July 12, 2010 and July 23, 2010, 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 reports that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has fallen 13 cents per gallon from $2.84 per gallon to $2.71 per gallon; CNG price has risen 1 cents from $1.90 to $1.91; and ethanol (E85) has fallen 12 cents from $2.42 to $2.30 per gallon. CNG is about 80 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 54 cents more per gallon than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.