Funding Alternative Fuel Activities
4/1/2003
A wide variety of funding sources are available for alternative fuel activities. The Clean Cities Web site maintains updated information on funding resources and tips for pursuing those resources at www.ccities.doe.gov/funding.shtml. This fact sheet summarizes major funding opportunities and suggests avenues for finding additional funding.
Impact of Biodiesel Fuels on Air Quality Task 2 Report: The Impact of Biodiesel Fuels on Ozone Concentrations
4/1/2003
This report evaluates the ozone air quality impacts from the use of biodiesel fuel in the South Coast (Los Angeles) Air Basin (SoCAB), lower Lake Michigan, Northeast Corridor, and other cities in the Eastern United States. The largest impacts on ambient ozone concentrations due to the use of biodiesel are expected to be due to changes in NOx emissions from diesel vehicles. Studies, such as the Ozone Transport Assessment Group (OTAG), have concluded that regional NOx controls are one of the most effective control strategies for reducing regional ozone concentrations. In the eastern U.S. However, in some cases, NOx controls result in increased ozone levels, particularly in the urban cores of large cities. The assessment of ozone impacts due to biodiesel fuel use must therefore include the effects of the fuel on regional ozone and ozone transport as well as the effects within urban areas. The ozone air quality modeling conducted as part of this study therefore takes into account both urban-scale and regional-scale ozone formation through the use of high-resolution urban-scale modeling domains of the cities under study as well as coarser-scale regional-scale modeling.
Authors: Morris, R.; Mansell, G.; Jia, Y.; Wilson, G.
An Emission and Performance Comparison of the Natural Gas C-Gas Plus Engine in Heavy-Duty Trucks: Final Report
4/1/2003
To advance NGV technology, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) supported on-road prototype development of the Cummins Westport Inc. (CWI) C8.3G Plus (C-Gas Plus) compressed natural gas engine, beginning in November 2000. The goal of the project was to advance laboratory-developed technologies, on road and in service, for a natural gas truck and bus engine with significant improvements over the previous C8.3G natural gas engine. This report summarizes on-road prototype development of the C-Gas Plus engine.
Authors: Lyford-Pike, E.J.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - March 3, 2003
3/3/2003
This is the ninth issue of the Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, a quarterly newsletter keeping you up to date on the price of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders during the weeks of February 3, February 10, and February 17 2003, with comparisons to the prices in the previous Price Report, which were collected in October, 2002.
Authors: Lott, M.
MTA New York City Transit
3/1/2003
The Role of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) is to bridge the gap between R&D of advanced vehicle technologies and commercial availability. This fact sheet examines testing activity for New York City Transit's fleet of diesel electric hybrid buses.
Innovative Methods for Corn Stover Collecting, Handling, Storing and Transporting
3/1/2003
Corn stover, the material remaining on the surface after the grain is collected, is the largest underutilized crop in the U.S. Currently, stover is field dried and baled, limiting transportation to a 50-mile radius. For corn stover feedstock to become a reality for large biorefineries, innovations are needed between the field and delivery to the the processor in three areas: collection, storage, and transportation.
Authors: Atchison, J.E.; Hettenhaus, J.R.
The Effect of Biodiesel Composition on Engine Emissions from a DDC Series 60 Diesel Engine
2/28/2003
Certificaation fuel runs exhibited a mean NOx emission level of 4.59 g/bhp-h (+/-.053) with no significant drift over the four month test program. PM emissions averaged 0.261 g/bhp-h (+/-0.019). A small downward drift in PM emissions was evident (11% over the course of the project). Thus, no correction for drift was applied to the NOx emissions data but a small correction wass applied to PM.
Authors: Graboski, M.S.; R.L. McCormick, T.L. Alleman
NOx Solutions for Biodiesel -- Final Report -- #6 in a series of 6
2/28/2003
This study has examined a number of approaches for Nox reduction from biodiesel. Blending FT diesel at very high percentages can produce a NOx neutral fuel. Lowering the base fuel aromatic content from 31.9% to 7.5% (nominally 10% aromatic fuel) was very successful at lowering NOx.
Authors: McCormick, R.L.; J.R. Alvarez, M.S. Graboski
Bioassay Analyses of Particulate Matter From a Diesel Bus Engine Using Various Biodiesel Feedstock Fuels
2/28/2003
Diesel exhaust is a complex mixture of compounds present in both the particle and vapor phases and includes specific classes of compounds such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, many of which are genotoxic. Many technologies have been employed to reduce diesel particulate emissions, including engine modification, emission control devices, and the use of alternative fuels such as biodiesel.
Authors: Kado, N.Y.; P.A. Kuzmicky
Fuel Cell Report to Congress: February 2003
2/1/2003
This report is one of two that Congress has asked the Department of Energy to prepare, describing the status of fuel cells. This report covers the potential benefits, the barriers to commercialization and the recommended program adjustments to fuel cell use in transportation, portable power, stationary, and distributed power generation applications.