27 January 2012
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| ACC combines three sets of regulations to reduce emissions from light-duty vehicles and build the market for advanced zero emission vehicles. Source: ARB. Click to enlarge. |
In a unanimous vote on Friday, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted the Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) regulatory package (earlier post), launching California into another round of major automotive regulations for model years 2015-2025 that are designed to deliver cleaner air, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to help build the future market for battery-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles.
“This package of regulations is both visionary and absolutely feasible,” said Mary Nichols, ARB Chairman, at the opening of the hearing on the rules on Thursday. “The goal is to accelerate a transition already in process and to make sure it succeeds. This marks a new chapter in the history of ARB.”
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27 January 2012
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| Simplified palm oil biofuel lifecycle system diagram. Source: EPA. Click to enlarge. |
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) analyses on biodiesel and renewable diesel produced from palm oil and estimated GHG emission reductions of 17% (81 (kgCO2e/mmBtu) and 11% (87 (kgCO2e/mmBtu) respectively for these biofuels compared to the statutory baseline (97 (kgCO2e/mmBtu) petroleum-based diesel fuel used in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.
Consequently, neither palm oil-based biofuel qualifies as meeting the minimum 20% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction performance threshold required for renewable fuel under the RFS program. EPA has published a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) on this to provide an opportunity to comment on the analyses.
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27 January 2012
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is working to synthesize novel metal-organic framework materials with high hydrogen adsorption capacities sufficient to provide safe and cost-effective storage that could support a 300-mile (483-km) range on vehicles.
The US Department of Energy recently awarded Berkeley Lab a three-year, $2.1 million grant for the project, which will also include contributions by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and General Motors (GM). (Earlier post.) The grant was part of more than $7 million awarded by DOE last month for hydrogen storage technologies in fuel cell electric vehicles.
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26 January 2012
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| Initial design layout of the Rotrak system with the corresponding block diagram. Source: Stone (2010). Click to enlarge. |
Rotrak, the 50:50 joint-venture between traction drive specialist Torotrak plc and centrifugal supercharger company Rotrex A/S, is testing an advanced variable drive supercharger technology at Torotrak PLC’s test facility in Leyland, UK. (Earlier post.) The company’s engineers have a prototype system running in a B-segment donor vehicle on a dynamometer and are calibrating the control strategy to prove its driveability, performance, CO2 and fuel economy benefits.
Rotrak combines a Rotrex centrifugal supercharger and traction epicyclic with a Torotrak variable ratio full-toroidal traction drive to deliver performance and customer satisfaction levels not available from current pressure-charging solutions, according to the company.
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26 January 2012
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved a conditional loan guarantee commitment in the amount of $232.5 million to ZeaChem Boardman Biorefinery, LLC (ZBB) through the Biorefinery Assistance Program. ZBB will operate a 25 million gallon per year biorefinery, which will be constructed on an industrial site in Boardman, Oregon. Under the conditional commitment, ZBB must meet specified conditions before the 60% loan guarantee can be completed. The biorefinery is projected to be operational by late 2014.
Located in the northeast part of the state, the biorefinery will use high-yield cellulosic fermentation technology to produce advanced biofuels (cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels). An estimated 51% or more of the biorefinery’s output will be advanced biofuel, and the remainder will be high-value bio-based chemicals, such as acetic acid and ethyl acetate.
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26 January 2012
BMW has introduced a new range of M Performance Automobiles featuring a new 6-cylinder in-line diesel developed exclusively for those applications. The engines, which feature three turbochargers, deliver maximum output reaching 280 kW/381 hp and peak torque of 740 N·m
(546 lb-ft).
The new engine is applied in the BMW M550d xDrive Sedan, BMW M550d xDrive Touring, BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d. The vehicles are also equipped with an eight-speed sports automatic gearbox and the intelligent all-wheel-drive system BMW xDrive tuned to suit each model, as well as BMW EfficientDynamics technologies, including Auto Start-Stop and ECO PRO mode.
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26 January 2012
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| The CX-5. Click to enlarge. |
Mazda Motor Corporation has begun production of the all-new Mazda CX-5 with its new-generation SKYACTIV-D 2.2-liter diesel engine (earlier post) at its Ujina Plant near Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima. The CX-5 will be the first model of the company’s new-generation products that adopts SKYACTIV Technology throughout the vehicle (earlier post), in the powertrain, body and chassis, while fully embracing Mazda’s new design theme, “KODO - Soul of Motion.”
Mazda will start introducing the Mazda CX-5 this spring in Japan and Europe, followed by other markets around the world. The debut of the CX-5 with a diesel engine marks a new push on clean diesels in Japan market for Mazda. (Earlier post.)
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25 January 2012
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| Schematic representation of the conversion of hemicellulose to furfural (FuAL) through the biphasic dehydration of xylose to furfural, followed by the production of levulinic acid (LA) by reduction of furfural to furfuryl alcohol (FuOH) and further reaction of furfuryl alcohol with water in a biphasic reactor. Source: Gürbüz et al. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin led by Dr. Jim Dumesic report the conversion of the hemicellulose fraction of lignocellulosic biomass to furfural and levulinic acid using biphasic reactors with alkylphenol solvents in a new paper in the journal ChemSusChem. The furfural and levulinic acid products are valuable compounds for a variety of chemical applications, and they serve as precursors for the synthesis of liquid transportation fuels.
In an 2011 paper in the same journal, the Dumesic team reported that alkylphenol solvents allow a more effective production of biofuels from corn stover by enabling selective extraction and hydrogenation of levulinic acid to GVL, and by increasing the final concentration of GVL through successive extraction/hydrogenation steps. In that paper, the team concluded that the versatility of alkylphenol solvents may lead to their use in other biomass conversion processes utilizing mineral acids for biomass deconstruction. (Earlier post.)
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25 January 2012
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| Nissan Americas manufacturing plants. Click to enlarge. |
Nissan Americas reported record sales of 1,561,230 in 2011 calendar year for Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles throughout the region encompassing North, Central and South America—a record year in both market share and volume for Japan’s second largest manufacturer. The Nissan brand alone gained 0.6 points of market share over the 2010 calendar year and advanced to become the Nº 2 Asian automotive brand in the Americas.
Nissan also announced it will invest up to US$2.0 billion for an all-new manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to support the company’s Americas growth strategy. The facility, which will complement Nissan’s two existing Mexican factories, is scheduled to begin operations in late 2013. During the initial phase of its development, the new complex will support production of up to 175,000 units annually of Nissan’s ‘B’ platform products.
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25 January 2012
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| B 180 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY. Click to enlarge. |
Over its entire life cycle—from production and service over 160,000 kilometers (99,400 miles) to recycling—the new Mercedes-Benz B 180 BlueEFFICIENCY with 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission produces 16% less CO2 emissions than its predecessor when the latter was discontinued in 2011. Primary energy consumption over the vehicle’s entire life cycle is cut by 14% in comparison to its predecessor. This corresponds to the energy content of around 2,400 liters (634 gallons) of gasoline.
The TÜV Süd technical inspection authority awarded the compact sports tourer the Environmental Certificate in accordance with ISO standard TR 14062. This certification is based on a comprehensive life cycle assessment of the B-Class.
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25 January 2012
President Obama used his last State-of-the-Union (SOTU) address of his term to outline four main elements of a blueprint for an “economy that’s built to last: an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.”.
Echoing the “all-in” energy strategy recommended by the 2011 year-end report from the President’s Jobs Council (earlier post), the President called for an “all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy. A strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.” Subsequent to the SOTU address, the White House issued a “Blueprint for an America Built to Last” as an outline of the points the President made in his speech.
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