Download or read book Environmental and Economic Assessment of Alternative Transportation Fuels written by Mitch Russell Withers and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alternative fuels have the potential to mitigate transportation's impact on the environment and enhance energy security. In this work, we investigate two alternative fuels: liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an aviation fuel, and middle distillate fuel derived from woody biomass for use in aviation or road transport. The use of LNG as a supplemental aircraft fuel is considered in the context of the Lockheed Martin C- 1 30H and C-130J transport aircraft. We estimate the cost of retrofitting these aircraft to use LNG and the savings from reduced fuel expenses. We evaluate the societal impacts of LNG within a cost-benefit framework, taking into account resource consumption, human health impacts related to air quality, and climate damage. We find that aircraft operators can save up to 14% on fuel expenses (retrofit costs included) by employing LNG retrofits, with a 95% confidence interval of 2-23%. Society can also benefit by 12% (3-20%) from LNG use as a result of improved surface air quality, lower resource consumption, and climate neutrality relative to conventional fuel. These results are highly dependent on fuel prices, the quantity and cost of the LNG retrofits, and the frequency and length of missions. Woody biomass harvested from old-growth forests produces a large carbon debt when used as a feedstock for transportation fuel. Managed forests are an attractive alternative for inexpensive biomass production with the potential to reduce this carbon debt. We study the effect of forest management practices on the carbon debt payback time resulting from harvesting woody biomass from managed forests for middle distillate fuel production. We also calculate the breakeven time in terms of radiative forcing, temperature change, and economic damages. We find that biofuels produced over a period of 30 years have higher CO 2 emissions than fossil fuels for 59 years, higher radiative forcing for 42 years, higher temperature change for 48 years, and higher cumulative discounted (1-2%) economic damages for more than 100 years. These damages never break even at discount rates above 2%. Payback times can be reduced by increasing the age at which biomass is harvested. When biofuel production is sustained indefinitely, greater climate benefits are achieved over the next 100 years by instead producing long-lived wood products like lumber.
Download or read book Environmental and Economic Assessment of Transportation Fuels from Municipal Solid Waste written by Pooja Suresh and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Municipal solid waste (MSW), comprising food waste, residential rubbish and commercial waste, has been identified as a potential feedstock for the production of alternative fuels. Conversion of MSW to fuel could displace petroleum-derived fuels to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation, and also avoid the GHG emissions associated with existing waste management strategies such as landfilling. This thesis quantifies the lifecycle GHG emissions and economic feasibility of middle distillate (MD) fuel, including diesel and jet fuel, derived from MSW in the United States via three thermochemical conversion pathways: conventional gasification and Fischer-Tropsch (FT MD), plasma gasification and Fischer-Tropsch (Plasma FT MD) and, conventional gasification, catalytic alcohol synthesis and alcohol-to-jet upgrading (ATJ MD). Expanded system boundaries are used to capture the change in existing MSW use and disposal, and parameter uncertainty is accounted for with Monte Carlo simulations. The median lifecycle GHG emissions are calculated to be 32.9, 62.3 and 52.7 gCO2e/MJ with standard deviations of 7.2, 9.5 and 13.2 gCO2e/MJ for FT, Plasma FT and ATJ MD fuels, respectively, compared to a baseline of 90 gCO2e/MJ for conventional MD fuels. These results are found to be sensitive to MSW composition, the waste management strategy displaced, plant scale and associated fuel yield, feedstock transportation distance and the co-product allocation method. Median minimum selling prices are estimated at 0.99, 1.78 and 1.20 $ per litre and standard deviations of 0.14, 0.29 and 0.27 $ per litre with the probability of achieving a positive net present value of fuel production at market prices of 14%, 0.1% and 7% for FT, Plasma FT and ATJ MD fuels, respectively. The sensitivity of these results to the discount rate, income tax rate, implementation of carbon price, feedstock cost, scale and process efficiency indicate that policy measures, MSW tipping fees and technological advancements can improve the economic viability of MSW fuels. Considering a societal perspective (e.g. social opportunity cost of capital, social costs of GHG emissions) increases the probability of positive net present value of fuel production to 93%, 67% and 92.5% for the FT, Plasma FT, and ATJ MD fuels, respectively.
Download or read book Alternative Transportation Fuels written by Daniel Sperling and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1989-10-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, energy policy has been a hotly debated topic. Governments around the world have struggled to respond to a changing energy market. Yet the policy-making process is all too often distorted by self-interest groups who are informed by narrow, technical research. The question addressed by this volume is one of the most timely and critical of the energy-related questions: How much longer can we rely on petroleum as a transportation fuel? This book, which includes a subset of papers commissioned for an unusual symposium (Alternative Transportation Fuels of the 1990s and Beyond, July 17-19, 1988), addresses the broader issues of transportation-fuel policy in regard to energy security, economic growth, and environmental quality. While many conferences have addressed the subject of alternative fuels, their scope has been intensive and narrow, focusing on a few specific areas in the spectrum of possibilities. This conference was the first in many years to offer such a broad exploration of alternative fuels. Presenters included influential executives and administrators from the Department of Energy, and the motor vehicle and energy industries; federal, state, and local governments; environmental groups as well as leading researchers in the fields of air quality analysis, motor vehicle technology, and energy policy. In addition to an introduction and conclusion by Daniel Sperling, a total of 17 papers are presented in this volume. What is most exceptional and exciting about this collection is the presentation of contrasting views and the sharing of this wealth of information with a broader audience. Examined here are global fuel strategy, ethanol fuels in Brazil, alternative fuels as a solution to the air quality problem, Chevron's view of the future of oil, and the role of government in promoting alternative transportation fuels. Methanol, compressed natural gas, and hydrogen-powered and electric vehicles are also discussed. In addition to the analytical papers, the volume also includes a short article representing the viewpoint of an environmentally minded citizen. This book should appeal to any individual involved or interested in this important area. Researchers will appreciate the opportunity to consider so many well-researched but varying perspectives. It will be essential--and perhaps should be required reading--for policy makers, providing them with an overview of the issues and helping them make more intelligent, effective, and strategic choices. For the general public--those who are affected by energy and transportation policies--it is a unique opportunity to gain a broad understanding of our transportation fuel options and their environmental and economic consequences.
Download or read book Alternative Transportation Fuels written by Daniel Sperling and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1989-10-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, energy policy has been a hotly debated topic. Governments around the world have struggled to respond to a changing energy market. Yet the policy-making process is all too often distorted by self-interest groups who are informed by narrow, technical research. The question addressed by this volume is one of the most timely and critical of the energy-related questions: How much longer can we rely on petroleum as a transportation fuel? This book, which includes a subset of papers commissioned for an unusual symposium (Alternative Transportation Fuels of the 1990s and Beyond, July 17-19, 1988), addresses the broader issues of transportation-fuel policy in regard to energy security, economic growth, and environmental quality. While many conferences have addressed the subject of alternative fuels, their scope has been intensive and narrow, focusing on a few specific areas in the spectrum of possibilities. This conference was the first in many years to offer such a broad exploration of alternative fuels. Presenters included influential executives and administrators from the Department of Energy, and the motor vehicle and energy industries; federal, state, and local governments; environmental groups as well as leading researchers in the fields of air quality analysis, motor vehicle technology, and energy policy. In addition to an introduction and conclusion by Daniel Sperling, a total of 17 papers are presented in this volume. What is most exceptional and exciting about this collection is the presentation of contrasting views and the sharing of this wealth of information with a broader audience. Examined here are global fuel strategy, ethanol fuels in Brazil, alternative fuels as a solution to the air quality problem, Chevron's view of the future of oil, and the role of government in promoting alternative transportation fuels. Methanol, compressed natural gas, and hydrogen-powered and electric vehicles are also discussed. In addition to the analytical papers, the volume also includes a short article representing the viewpoint of an environmentally minded citizen. This book should appeal to any individual involved or interested in this important area. Researchers will appreciate the opportunity to consider so many well-researched but varying perspectives. It will be essential--and perhaps should be required reading--for policy makers, providing them with an overview of the issues and helping them make more intelligent, effective, and strategic choices. For the general public--those who are affected by energy and transportation policies--it is a unique opportunity to gain a broad understanding of our transportation fuel options and their environmental and economic consequences.
Download or read book Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-01-24 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The transportation sector cannot continue on its current path: The volatility of oil prices threatens the U.S. economy, the large proportion of oil importation threatens U.S. energy security, and the massive contribution of greenhouse gases threatens the environment. The development of domestic sources of alternative transportation fuels with lower greenhouse emissions is now a national imperative. Coal and biomass are in abundant supply in the United States and can be converted to liquid fuels that can be combusted in existing and future vehicles. Their abundant supply makes them attractive candidates to provide non-oil-based liquid fuels to the U.S. transportation system. However, there are important questions about the economic viability, carbon impact, and technology status of these options. Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass provides a snapshot of the potential costs of liquid fuels from biomass by biochemical conversion and from biomass and coal by thermochemical conversion. Policy makers, investors, leaders in industry, the transportation sector, and others with a concern for the environment, economy, and energy security will look to this book as a roadmap to independence from foreign oil. With immediate action and sustained effort, alternative liquid fuels can be available in the 2020 time frame, if or when the nation needs them.
Download or read book Externalities of transportation fuels written by Dileep K. Birur and published by RTI Press. This book was released on 2013-07-31 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research report examines the economic and environmental externalities associated with the US transportation sector. The United States currently accounts for about 25 percent of world oil consumption, about 50 percent of which is imported. Achieving energy security by reducing dependence on imported oil has been the foremost challenge of several major energy-importing countries, including the United States. In this study, we explored the costs associated with energy security/cost of dependence on oil and estimated the environmental externalities associated with different types of transportation fuels based on a set of economic, environmental, and life-cycle analysis models. Our assessment of estimations on oil dependence costs indicates that several elements constitute the true cost of oil and not many studies have attempted to include all of these costs for various reasons. For analyzing the environmental externalities, we used a life-cycle analysis model; the FASOM-GHG model of agriculture and forestry; APEEP—an integrated assessment model to calculate the marginal damage of emissions; GTAP-BIO—a computable general equilibrium model to estimate land use changes; and the OSIRIS model to estimate the species extinctions based on deforestation. This study on assessing the externalities could provide a quantitative basis for policy initiatives pertaining to America’s future transportation infrastructure. This study suggests that there is a need to consider economic, environmental, and other societal costs within a holistic framework to assess relative costs and benefits and suitability of alternative transportation fuels that could play a role in meeting our future energy needs.
Download or read book Assessment of Costs and Benefits of Flexible and Alternative Fuel Use in the U S Transportation Sector written by and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Life Cycle Economic and Environmental Impact Assessment of Alternative Transport Fuels and Power train Technologies written by Ashish Sharma and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Externalities of Transportation Fuels written by Robert H. Beach and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research report examines the economic and environmental externalities associated with the US transportation sector. The United States currently accounts for about 25 percent of world oil consumption, about 50 percent of which is imported. Achieving energy security by reducing dependence on imported oil has been the foremost challenge of several major energy-importing countries, including the United States. In this study, we explored the costs associated with energy security/cost of dependence on oil and estimated the environmental externalities associated with different types of transportation fuels based on a set of economic, environmental, and life-cycle analysis models. Our assessment of estimations on oil dependence costs indicates that several elements constitute the true cost of oil and not many studies have attempted to include all of these costs for various reasons. For analyzing the environmental externalities, we used GREET, a life-cycle analysis model; the FASOM-GHG model of agriculture and forestry; APEEP—an integrated assessment model to calculate the marginal damage of emissions; GTAP-BIO—a computable general equilibrium model to estimate land use changes; and the OSIRIS model to estimate the species extinctions based on deforestation. This study on assessing the externalities could provide a quantitative basis for policy initiatives pertaining to America’s future transportation infrastructure. This study suggests that there is a need to consider economic, environmental, and other societal costs within a holistic framework to assess relative costs and benefits and suitability of alternative transportation fuels that could play a role in meeting our future energy needs
Download or read book Alternative Transportation Fuels written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Assessing Environmental Externalities of Transportation Fuels written by Dileep K. Birur and published by RTI Press. This book was released on 2013-07-30 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to estimate the environmental externalities associated with various transportation fuels in the United States. We used GREET—a life-cycle analysis model; FASOM-GHG—a partial equilibrium dynamic optimization model on agriculture and forestry; APEEP—an integrated assessment model to calculate the marginal damage of emissions; the GTAP-BIO model—a computable general equilibrium model to estimate global land use and land cover changes due to biofuels policies; and the OSIRIS model to estimate the species extinctions based on deforestation due to biofuels policy scenario results. The FASOM-GHG- and GREET-based analysis on incorporating regional variation in crop yields and inputs did not reveal any significant variation in ethanol-based GHG emissions across the regions. The GTAP-BIO model-based global deforestation rates due to implementation of US Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) policies for first-generation biofuels, when applied to the OSIRIS model, indicated insignificant loss in biodiversity. These estimations would help in understanding whether a particular transportation fuel technology is environmentally sustainable and benefits the economy.
Download or read book Clean Fuels for Mobility written by Gabriele Di Blasio and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of clean fuels for sustainable mobility by highlighting on world energy outlook, technic-economic assessment, and the key aspects of the fuel production processes and their possible large impact on various transportation sector segments. The content initially deals with different types of alternative fuels, for example, ethanol, methanol, butanol, hydrogen, biogas, biodiesel, etc. It also focuses on current trends in the automotive sector. Various aspects of the clean fuels production process and formulation to improve the combustion characteristics and efficiency toward sustainability are considered. Some of the important fuels like hydrogen, ammonia, natural gas etc. are discussed in detail. This volume will be useful for the industrial and research community involved in fuels, combustion engines, and environmental research.
Download or read book Fuels to Drive Our Future written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1990-01-01 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American love affair with the automobile is powered by gasoline and diesel fuel, both produced from petroleum. But experts are turning more of their attention to alternative sources of liquid transportation fuels, as concerns mount about U.S. dependence on foreign oil, falling domestic oil production, and the environment. This book explores the potential for producing liquid transportation fuels by enhanced oil recovery from existing reservoirs, and processing resources such as coal, oil shale, tar sands, natural gas, and other promising approaches. Fuels to Drive Our Future draws together relevant geological, technical, economic, and environmental factors and recommends specific directions for U.S. research and development efforts on alternative fuel sources. Of special interest is the book's benchmark cost analysis comparing several major alternative fuel production processes. This volume will be of special interest to executives and engineers in the automotive and fuel industries, policymakers, environmental and alternative fuel specialists, energy economists, and researchers.
Download or read book Handbook of Transport and the Environment written by David A. Hensher and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2003-11-19 with total page 864 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each chapter was specially commissioned from an acknowledged world expert on the topic.
Download or read book Choosing an Alternative Transportation Fuel written by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and published by OECD. This book was released on 1993 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Alternative Transportation Fuels written by M.K. Gajendra Babu and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2013-06-18 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A continuous rise in the consumption of gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum-based fuels will eventually deplete reserves and deteriorate the environment, Alternative Transportation Fuels: Utilisation in Combustion Engines explores the feasibility of using alternative fuels that could pave the way for the sustained operation of the transport sector. It assesses the potential avenues for using different alternative fuels in the transport sector, highlights several types of transport and its effect on the environment, and discusses the conventional and alternative fuels for land transport. • Provides experimental investigations relating to the utilization of alternative fuels in the internal combustion engines • Describes the alternative powered vehicles and potential alternative fuels for rail, marine, and aviation applications • Highlights the potential global warming and climate change on account of utilizing the conventional and alternative fuels The book starts off with coverage of the fuels for the land transport, aviation sector and reports on the experimental investigations relating to the utilisation of alternative fuels in internal combustion engines. It delivers an in-depth analysis of engine combustion, then focuses on fuel quality characterization and a modeling of alternative-fuelled engines, and describes alternative-powered vehicles. Based on the authors’ experience at laboratories around the globe, Alternative Transportation Fuels: Utilisation in Combustion Engines presents potential alternative fuels for rail, marine, and aviation applications. It examines potential global warming and climate change that could occur from the use of conventional and alternative fuels. It provides technical guidance on the future set up of refineries and automotive industries.
Download or read book Unconventional Fossil Based Fuels written by Michael Toman and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2008-10-03 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report, RAND researchers assess the potential future production levels, production costs, greenhouse gases, and other environmental implications of synthetic crude oil from oil sands and fuels produced via coal liquefaction relative to conventional petroleum-based transportation fuels. The findings indicate the potential cost-competitiveness of these alternative fuels and potential economic-environmental trade-offs from their deployment.
