Blended E85-diesel fuel droplet heating and evaporation

The multidimensional quasi-discrete (MDQD) model is applied to the analysis of heating and evaporation of mixtures of E85 (85 vol % ethanol and 15 vol % gasoline) with diesel fuel, commonly known as “E85–diesel” blends, using the universal quasi-chemical functional group activity coefficients model for the calculation of vapor pressure. The contribution of 119 components of E85–diesel fuel blends is taken into account, but replaced with smaller number of components/quasi-components, under conditions representative of diesel engines. Our results show that high fractions of E85–diesel fuel blends have a significant impact on the evolutions of droplet radii and surface temperatures. For instance, droplet lifetime and surface temperature for a blend of 50 vol % E85 and 50 vol % diesel are 23.2% and up to 3.4% less than those of pure diesel fuel, respectively. The application of the MDQD model has improved the computational efficiency significantly with minimal sacrifice to accuracy. This approach leads to a saving of up to 86.4% of CPU time when reducing the 119 components to 16 components/quasi-components without a sacrifice to the main features of the model

Willingness to Pay for Emission Reductions with E85

This study examines consumers' WTP for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from E85 as opposed to gasoline. Data were collected via a contingent choice exercise in a 2009 national online survey. As part of the fuel choice exercise, several fuel attributes were allowed to vary including emission reductions, import level, proximity of fuel availability, price, and fuel blend (E85 or regular gasoline). A random parameters model with demographics and attitudes interacted with emission reductions was estimated. The resulting estimates suggest that, overall the WTP for an emission reduction is not statistically significant. However, for some demographic and attitudinal profiles, the WTP is significant. An example profile includes younger age, female, concerned about climate change, not supportive of additional drilling, supportive of farmland being used for fuel, own or are likely to own a FlexFuel vehicle, and primary vehicle not an SUV.Willingness to Pay, Emission Reductions, E85, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q41, Q51,

Particulate Matter Emissions from a Direct Injection Spark Ignition Engine under Cold Fast Idle Conditions for Ethanol-Gasoline Blends

The engine out particular matter number (PN) distributions at engine coolant temperature (ECT) of 0° C to 40° C for ethanol/ gasoline blends (E0 to E85) have been measured for a direct-injection spark ignition engine under cold fast idle condition. For E10 to E85, PN increases modestly when the ECT is lowered. The distributions, however, are insensitive to the ethanol content of the fuel. The PN for E0 is substantially higher than the gasohol fuels at ECT below 20° C. The total PN values (obtained from integrating the PN distribution from 15 to 350 run) are approximately the same for all fuels (E0 to E85) when ECT is above 20° C. When ECT is decreased below 20° C, the total PN values for E10 to E85 increase modestly, and they are insensitive to the ethanol content. For E0, however, the total PN increases substantially. This sharp change in PN from E0 to E10 is confirmed by running the tests with E2.5 and E5. The midpoint of the transition occurs at approximately E5. Because the fuel evaporative property does not change substantially from E0 to E10, the significant change in PN is attributed to the particulate matter formation chemistry.Engine and Fuels Research Consortiu

Life Cycle Assessment of Sweet Sorghum as Feedstock for Second-generation Biofuel Production

There exist few life cycle assessments (LCAs) in the literature that focus on the second-generation biofuel production from sweet sorghum, a non-food-source feedstock that offers several advantages in terms of farming requirements compared to corn or sugarcane. The objective of this LCA study was to evaluate biofuels produced from sweet sorghum to determine the potential environmental benefits of producing sweet sorghum biofuel compared to conventional fossil fuels. The biofuel production process used for this study differed from other LCAs in that, in parallel to stalk juice extraction and fermentation, residual bagasse and vinasse was pyrolyzed and upgraded to a diesel equivalent as opposed to being fermented or combusted for a source of heat or electricity production. The life cycle inventory included data available in the literature regarding mass and energy input requirements for farming, juice extraction, fermenting, pre-treatment, pyrolysis, and steam reforming steps. Experimental data for bio-oil upgrading was obtained from a pilot plant in Huntsville, AR, including hydrogen gas requirements for hydrotreatment and diesel, biochar, and non-condensable gas yields. The functional unit used for this study was the total kilometers driven by standard passenger vehicles using ethanol, gasoline and diesel produced from 1 ha of harvested sweet sorghum (76 wet tons). Total biofuel yields resulting from this basis were 5,122 L of bioethanol, 2,708 L of gasoline and 780 L of diesel. With these yields, distances of 58,500 km, 21,500 km, and 12,070 km were chosen as the functional unit for the combustion of E85, E10, and diesel, respectively based on vehicle fuel efficiencies from the GREET model. Compared to conventional gasoline, this production process resulted in nearly 50% reduction of GHGs and 46% reduction in fossil fuel depletion, in addition to reductions in eutrophication, ecotoxicity, and carcinogenics. However, fossil fuels were lower by 25%, 45%, and 12% in the categories of non-carcinogenics, respiratory effects, and smog, respectively. These lower impacts for fossil fuels are driven by heavy-metal uptake from corn production and the fact that less electricity is used in the supply chain compared to biofuel production. A Monte Carlo simulation showed the comparative impact assessment results were not sensitive to uncertainty in the life cycle inventory. While the impact assessment showed benefits in producing sweet sorghum biofuel compared to fossil fuels, further research must be conducted on land use and water use. A detailed process simulation, coupled with continued experimental studies of the pyrolysis and upgrading processes, is recommended for further process optimization and heat integration, as well as composition analyses of the various co-products resulting from the process. Further studies will provide valuable information in choosing between feedstocks, specifically those which can be used to produce second-generation biofuels

Ready to Roll?: Overview of Challenges and Opportunities

Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) use combinations of vehicle fuels and technologies to reduce the use of petroleum in on-road vehicles. These include low-carbon fuels (sometimes blended with petroleum), electricity, and hybrid technologies combining internal combustion engines with electric motors. DVRPC's Ready to Roll? Report provides an overview for policymakers and citizens in the Greater Philadelphia region about the challenges and opportunities for expanded use of alternative fuel vehicles. The AFVs covered in this report include those most widely available today or likely to become available in the next 10 to 20 years

Quantum affine algebras and universal R-matrix with spectral parameter, II

This paper is an extended version of our previous short letter \cite{ZG2} and is attempted to give a detailed account for the results presented in that paper. Let $U_q({\cal G}^{(1)})$ be the quantized nontwisted affine Lie algebra and $U_q({\cal G})$ be the corresponding quantum simple Lie algebra. Using the previous obtained universal $R$-matrix for $U_q(A_1^{(1)})$ and $U_q(A_2^{(1)})$, we determine the explicitly spectral-dependent universal $R$-matrix for $U_q(A_1)$ and $U_q(A_2)$. We apply these spectral-dependent universal $R$-matrix to some concrete representations. We then reproduce the well-known results for the fundamental representations and we are also able to derive for the first time the extreamly explicit and compact formula of the spectral-dependent $R$-matrix for the adjoint representation of $U_q(A_2)$, the simplest nontrival case when the tensor product of the representations is {\em not} multiplicity-free.Comment: 22 page

Baseline measurements of ethene in 2002: Implications for increased ethanol use and biomass burning on air quality and ecosystems

While it is well known that combustion of ethanol as a biofuel will lead to enhanced emissions of methane, ethene (ethylene), acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, and oxides of nitrogen (primarily NO) when compared to gasoline alone, especially during cold starts or if catalytic converters are not operating properly, the impacts of increases in atmospheric ethene levels from combustion of fuels with higher ethanol content has not received much attention. Ethene is a well known and potent plant growth hormone and exposure to agricultural crops and natural vegetation results in yield reductions especially when combined with higher levels of PAN and ozone also expected from the increased use of ethanol/gasoline blends. We report here some baseline measurements of ethene obtained in 2002 in the southwestern and south central United States. These data indicate that current ethene background levels are less than 1 ppb. Anticipated increases in fuel ethanol content of E30 or greater is expected to lead to higher atmospheric levels of ethene on regional scales due to its atmospheric lifetime of 1.5-3 days. These background measurements are discussed in light of the potential enhancement of ethene levels expected from the anticipated increases in ethanol use as a renewable biofuel. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd

Effects of Demographics and Attitudes on WTP for Fuel Import Reductions through Ethanol Purchases

imported fuel, willingness to pay, Marketing,

EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF AN INCREASE IN FUEL-ETHANOL DEMAND ON AGRICULTURE AND THE ECONOMY

Fuel ethanol demand is projected to increase because of proposed ban on methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline, renewable fuels standard, and the revised eight-hour ozone standards. In this paper, several scenarios of increased fuel ethanol demand and its effects on crop and feed prices, farm income and state finances under current tax-subsidy structure, are analyzed using a multi-sector econometric model AGMOD.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,