Biofuels Versus Diesel and Gasoline in the JEC-WTW Report Version 2c - An Extract from the 'Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Future Automotive Fuels and Powertrains in the European Context', Ver. 2c March 2007

An extract of the JRC-EUCAR-CONCAWE (JEC) Well-to-Wheels Report (WTW) Version 2c, March 2007 has been made to form an easily readable reference for people interested only in biofuels. Thus, among all alternative fuels analysed in the WTW study, only the biofuels have been extracted. Conventional fuels, namely standard gasoline and diesel, have been incorporated for comparison. In particular, the following biomass types are considered: ¿ Sugar beet, sugar cane, wheat and straw (to ethanol and further conversion from ethanol to ETBE (Ethyl-Tertiary-Butyl Ether)) ¿ Oil seeds -rapeseed, sunflower- (to bio-diesel) ¿ Wood (to ethanol and to synthetic liquid fuels) ¿ Organic wastes (to compressed biogas) The extract incorporates the complete pathway of the biofuel, from the production of the raw material to the final biofuel use in the car. It means to have listed in the report for each biofuel: ¿ availability in EU at given cost ¿ costs involved in the processing, transportation, infrastructures ¿ GHG emissions and energetic balance. Natural gas sources, hydrogen, fossil fuels and uses to electricity are not part of this report.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie

Biofuels in the European Context

A comprehensive 'Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Future Automotive Fuels and Powertrains in the European Context' has been jointly produced by the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, EUCAR (European Council for Automotive Research) and CONCAWE (European oil industry technical collaboration organisation for environment, health and safety). The first version of the study was adopted as reference for studies by DG-TREN (European Commission Directorate General for Energy and Transport) and IEA (International Energy Authority). In the second version, new aspects were added in the biofuels section: - Comparison of imported and EU-produced ethanol - The black liquor gasification route for making transport fuels in wood pulp mills - Compressed biogas as transport fuel - Updated data in many pathways, especially wheat to ethanol - Refinement of availability and especially cost estimates - Refined estimates of nitrous oxide emissions from biomass crops at EU level - Discussion of competitive uses for biomass - Estimate of cost-to-EU of replacing various proportions of transport fuel with biofuels The study considers all routes to alternative road transport fuels with a significant potential in 2010-2020. For biofuels, this includes: - FAME (biodiesel) from rapeseed and sunflower seed - ethanol from wheat, sugar beet and lignocellulose - hydrogen, DME, methanol and FT liquids from lignocellulose - compressed biogas Lignocellulose comprises farmed wood (or grasses), and woody wastes (including straw). A wide range of automotive power-trains is considered. The study gives energy balance, GHG emissions, availability and costs for each combination. It aims for complete transparency: all input data is specified and referenced, and all assumptions needed to make the calculations are explicitly stated. Wherever possible, primary data from industry sources has been used.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie

Prospetives in Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaics.

Abstract not availableJRC.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra

Derivation of the Explicit Equation Relating Mass-Transfer-Limited-Current to Voltage at the Interface between Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions (ITIES)

A relation between the potential drop across the boundary layer and the potential drop at the double layer at the liquid-liquid interface was put forward by Indenbom to give an indication of the polarizability of the interface. We used this same approach, demonstrating that feasible assumptions allow to eliminate all the others variables in order to know the relationship between the current across the interface as a function of the total potential from one bulk solution to the other (i.e. I vs. ). The final expression is mathematically similar to the Butler-Volmer equation for classical electrode kinetics.JRC.F.7-Renewable Energ

Electropolymerized PV Cells

Electropolymerization offers numerous advantages for making the cheap and resilient layers of semiconducting polymer layers which would be required for a commercially viable plastic solar cells. But until now the layers were too defective. By analysing the literature and adding our own observations, we have used reverse-pulse electropolymerization to make a relatively perfect layer of plain (unsubstituted) polythiophene. Plain polythiophene has much better resistance to photo-oxidation than alkyl-substituted polythiophenes; it cannot be deposited by solvent evaporation because it is insoluble. We have also produced a small PV cell using electropolymerized polythiophene as electron donor, and carbon nanotubes as acceptor material.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie

Characterization of Doping and Electropolymerization of Free Standing Films of Polyterthiophene

To characterize the doping and electropolymerize a free-standing semiconducting polymer, the technique of electrodeposition at the Interface between Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions (ITIES) was used. The potential use of such films for photovoltaic applications led to a 'plain' terthiophene being chosen as the starting monomer in order to have a longer conjugation length. A new design of a 4-electrode cell allowed us to operate at a relatively high potential but where the potential is still low compared with a value that would damage the formed polymer. The doping level is investigated by both cyclic voltammetric and steady state techniques.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie

Electropolymerized Polythiophene Layer Extracted from the Interface Between Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions: Current-Time Ananlysis

Polythiophene was formed by electropolymerization at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions, using terthiophene as the starting monomer in 1,2-dichloroethane. The water phase contained a redox couple to allow removal of electrons through the interface. For the first time, a layer of polythiophene was produced which was strong enough to extract. The mechanism of electropolymerization was found to be similar to that in the electrodeposition of polythiophene on metals: progressive nucleation and 2D growth precedes 3D growth, ascribed to precipitation of oligomers from solution. The polymer extracted was found to be partially oxidized (irreversibly doped) to a conductive state, and stable in air.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie