Future Transportation Fuels Conventional Fuels

A description of how synthetic fuels are produced, refined and used in Canada.

This book focuses on clean transport and mobility essential to the modern world. It discusses internal combustion engines (ICEs) and alternatives like battery electric vehicles (BEVs) which are growing fast. Alternatives to ICEs start from a very low base and face formidable environmental, material availability, and economic challenges to unlimited and rapid growth. Hence ICEs will continue to be the main power source for transport for decades to come and have to be continuously improved to improve transport sustainability. The book highlights the need to assess proposed changes in the existing transport system on a life cycle basis. The volume includes chapters discussing the challenges faced by ICEs as well as chapters on novel fuels and fuel/ engine interactions which help in this quest to improve the efficiency of ICE and reduce exhaust pollutants. This book will be of interest to those in academia and industry alike.

"Newly revised, the second edition of this pioneering work addresses emerging factors affecting energy production and use, including the availability and desirability of various fuels. The text provides extensive discussion on hydrogen sources, both solar and nuclear, and fuel cell technology, as well as other alternative fuels such as biomass, and wind power. It delves into cost analysis, regulatory issues, barriers to implementation, conversion and storage systems, thermodynamic efficiency, fuel chain efficiency, air emission issues, and safety. The book also covers natural gas hydrogen gas, methanol, ethanol, and steam reforming."--pub. desc.

Vision 21 reviews the goals of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Vision 21 Program (DOE's vision for the future of coal-based power generation) and to recommend systems and approaches for moving from concept to reality. Vision 21 is an ambitious, forward-looking program for improving technologies and reducing the environmental impacts of using fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, and coal) to produce electricity, process heat, transportation fuels, and chemicals.

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.

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.