Assessment of costs and benefits of flexible and alternative fuel use in the US transportation sector

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:6889346

Alternatives to conventional motor gasoline and diesel fuel are being researched for energy security and environmental reasons. The three fuels with the most potential to displace a significant portion (e.g., 1 million barrels per day) of conventional fuels over the next 10 to 15 years are methanol (either neat or blended with gasoline), compressed natural gas (CNG), and electricity. Each has vehicle fuel characteristics very different from gasoline or diesel fuel that require changes to existing vehicle designs and fuel distribution systems. For example, although methanol is a liquid like gasoline, it requires nearly twice the storage space in terminals, delivery trucks, refueling stations, and vehicles. It is also more corrosive than gasoline, which can create materials compatibility problems in current highway vehicles and petroleum product distribution equipment. CNG (a gas, not a liquid) must be distributed by natural gas pipelines rather than petroleum pipelines or trucks. Service stations will need equipment to compress the gas sufficiently in vehicle storage cylinders to make it a useful vehicle fuel. Even compressed, CNG requires approximately 6 times the storage volume of gasoline on an energy equivalent basis. A substantial storage battery pack is required to use electricity as a vehicle fuel. For example, a 4-passenger electric vehicle (EV) with nickel-iron batteries may contain a battery pack weighing 1100 lb (499 kg). Further, EV's must be plugged in to an electric outlet to be fueled.'' This report is a synthesis of these DOE-sponsored studies. It characterizes methanol, natural gas, and electric vehicles, discusses their costs and displacement potential, identified distribution system changes and costs for each fuel, and finally, compares and evaluates the three sets of infrastructure changes and costs. 26 refs., 14 figs., 35 tabs.

• Research Organization: USDOE Office of Policy, Planning and Analysis, Washington, DC (USA). Resource Management
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/PE
• OSTI ID: 6889346
• Report Number(s): DOE/PE-0095P; ON: DE90014847
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
034000 -- Natural Gas-- Combustion
09 BIOMASS FUELS
099000 -- Biomass Fuels-- Products & By-Products-- (1990-)
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290500 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Research
Development
Demonstration
& Commercialization
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320203 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Transportation-- Land & Roadway
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330300 -- Advanced Propulsion Systems-- Electric-Powered Systems
330500 -- Advanced Propulsion Systems-- Flywheel Propulsion
330600 -- Advanced Propulsion Systems-- Vehicle Design Factors
330800* -- Emission Control-- Alternative Fuels
ALCOHOL FUELS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COORDINATED RESEARCH PROGRAMS
COST
DESIGN
DIESEL FUELS
DISTRIBUTION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FLEXIBILITY
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUEL SUBSTITUTION
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GASOLINE
LIQUID FUELS
MARKETING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METHANOL FUELS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATURAL GAS
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PRICES
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RETROFITTING
ROADS
STORAGE
SYNTHETIC FUELS
TENSILE PROPERTIES
TRANSPORTATION SECTOR
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
VEHICLES