Swift Enterprises Introduces Synthetic Hydrocarbon General Aviation Fuel from Biomass
9 May 2008
Swift Enterprises Ltd. has unveiled a new patented synthetic hydrocarbon general aviation fuel—SwiftFuel—that is produced from biomass.
SwiftFuel meets or exceeds the standards for aviation fuel as verified by nationally recognized laboratories, said co-founder John Rusek, a professor in Purdue University’s School of Astronautics and Aeronautics Engineering and research director for Swift. Rusek said the fuel can provide an effective range (distance between refueling) greater than petroleum while its projected cost is half that of the current petroleum manufacturing cost.
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MIT Study Concludes US LDV Fleet Can Reduce Fuel Consumption by 2035 to Pre-2000 Levels
9 May 2008
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| Reducing demand growth (sales and Vehicle Kilometers Traveled, VKT) makes the task of reducing fuel consumption easier. ERFC = Emphasis on Reducing Fuel Consumption. Click to enlarge. |
An MIT study on projected fuel use by the US light-duty vehicle fleet concludes that, at constant performance and increased cost, a 30-50% reduction in fleet fuel consumption and a 25-40% reduction in fleet fuel use is feasible by 2035—i.e., to pre-2000 levels. Achieving this, however, will require focusing advancing technology on reducing fuel consumption rather than size or power, as well as likely requiring reduction in growth demand for vehicles and they distance they travel.
The study also concludes that there are a greater number of vehicle and fuel alternatives to displace petroleum use than to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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ARB Releases Update On Study Showing Pavley Regs Deliver Greater Total GHG Reductions Than Federal CAFE
9 May 2008
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| Comparison of cumulative CO2e benefits achieved by Pavley Regulation and Federal CAFE by 2020 under different implementation scenarios. Click to enlarge. |
The California Air Resources Board has issued an addendum to an earlier technical study (earlier post) that shows that California’s clean cars law (the Pavley regulations) could achieve 41% greater total reductions of greenhouse gases nationwide if implemented nationally compared to the recently proposed federal fuel economy standards by 2020.
The previous ARB study, published before the schedule for achieving the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards had been released by the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) on 22 April (earlier post) assumed that attaining the CAFE standard of 35 mpg by 2020 would be on a regular year-by-year incremental basis. The schedule for implementing the CAFE standards proposed by NHTSA is instead front-loaded, requiring the bulk of the increases in fuel economy to come into effect earlier during the 2011-2015 time period.
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US Trucking Industry Launches Program to Reduce Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emissions
9 May 2008
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| Reductions in CO2 emissions achievable by lowering the speed limit to 65 mph. Click to enlarge. |
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) launched a program of six initiatives to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Fully implemented, they can reduce fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and CO2 emissions by 900 million tons for all medium-and heavy-duty trucks over the next 10 years, according to ATA President and CEO Bill Graves.
The six key recommendations to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 are displayed on a new website, www.trucksdeliver.org, and include:
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UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to Award $45M to 16 Low-Carbon Vehicle Projects
8 May 2008
The UK’s Technology Strategy Board has selected 16 projects to receive £23 million (US$45 million) in government investment through the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform. (Earlier post.) Including investments by the companies involved, the total value of the development projects will be £52 million (US$102 million).
The sixteen new research, development and demonstration projects represent the first investment by the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform since it was established in the autumn of 2007, and follows an open competition launched in September. The government investment is equally provided by the Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Transport.
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Argonne Releases Latest Version of GREET
8 May 2008
Argonne National Laboratory has released the latest version (1.8b) of the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) full life-cycle model used to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of new transportation fuels and advanced vehicle technologies.
The update will allow scientists to model combustion of ethanol produced from Brazilian sugarcane and used by US automobiles; production and use of bio-butanol as a potential transportation fuel; and production and use of biodiesel and renewable diesel via hydrogenation, coal/biomass co-feeding for Fischer-Tropsch diesel production and various corn ethanol plant types with different process fuels.
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Researchers Propose New Combustion System For DME Engine: CCCI
8 May 2008
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| Comparison of fuel consumption and emissions with a
variation of CO2 in the air charge in CCCI combustion. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China are developing a new combustion system for an engine fueled with dimethyl ether (DME): compound charge compression ignition (CCCI). The CCCI combustion process consists of HCCI (homogeneous charge compression ignition) combustion, premixing combustion, and diffusion combustion. The combustion characteristics are mainly decided by the premixed fuel ratio and CO2 concentration in the air charge.
In comparison to HCCI combustion mode for DME, CCCI combustion can extend the operating range with accompanying low NOx, hydrocarbon (HC), and CO emissions. They report on their work in the journal Energy & Fuels.
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BMW 2.0L Diesel Named Best New Engine for 2008
8 May 2008
BMW’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel (earlier post) was named Best New Engine of the Year 2008 at the tenth annual International Engine of the Year Awards at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany (6-8 May). The top six contenders in this category included two twin-turbos (one gasoline, one diesel), a V10 with 580bhp, the world’s first diesel boxer engine (from Subaru), and a fresh version of Volkswagen’s TSI.
BMW’s 3-liter Twin Turbo gasoline engine was named International Engine of the Year 2008, as it was last year. (Earlier post.) The judges of the awards noted that the back-to-back win also confirms turbocharging as the power generator of choice. Seven of the twelve award categories were taken by turbocharged engines.
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ZF Inaugurates First Production Site for Electric Drives; Volume Production for S-Class Hybrid in 4Q 2008
7 May 2008
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| A ZF DynaStart hybrid drive module. |
ZF has officially inaugurated the first location for the production of its DynaStart hybrid drive modules in Schweinfurt, Germany. During the fourth quarter of 2008, ZF will launch volume production to supply the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The modules will also be built for other cars, buses and delivery vehicles.
The DynaStart modules will be built by ZF Sachs—the Powertrain and Suspension Components Division of ZF. Currently, there are eight volume production projects under development for four vehicle manufacturers, with production launches scheduled between 2008 and 2012. Currently, ZF is launching an annual production volume of 35,000 units. Eventually, production could reach up to 200,000 units per year, with a staff of 50.
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Researchers Extract Hydrogen for Use in Fuel Cells from Formic Acid at Room Temperature
7 May 2008
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| A CO2-H2 power supply system as envisioned by the Leibniz team. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Catalysis in Rostock, Germany have developed a feasible process for the on-demand release of hydrogen from formic acid (HCO2H) without the need for the high-temperature reforming process usually involved in other thermochemical hydrogen generation systems.
Björn Loges, Albert Boddien, Henrik Junge, and Matthias Beller report in the journal Angewandte Chemie that this hydrogen, generated at room temperature, can be directly introduced into fuel cells.
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Antonov Pursuing Dual-Speed Supercharging as Enabler for Downsizing
7 May 2008
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| Antonov dual-speed supercharger. Click to enlarge. |
Antonov Automotive Technologies is recommending a simple dual-speed supercharger for downsizing engines to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Antonov currently offers a dual-speed supercharger, first shown at the Engine Expo in 2006 and currently on sale for the tuner market. (Earlier post.)
In a presentation on a panel on engine downsizing technologies at the Engine Expo 2008 in Stuttgart (6-8 May), Chris Baylis, operations director for UK-based Antonov, said that the dual-speed approach could enable a 25-50% reduction in engine size for road vehicles, with an accompanying reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
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