1. Alternative Fuels and Air Pollution Kim Brady EAS 6792

2. Types of Alternative Fuels Ethanol* Biodiesel – produced from vegetable oils or animal fats Natural Gas – mixture of hydrocarbons (CH 4 ) Propane – by-product of natural gas processing and crude oil refining Hydrogen – produced from fossil fuels, biomass, electrolyzing water Electricity – power electric and plug-in hybrids Methanol – CH 3 OH US Dept of Energy

3. Ethanol Renewable fuel produced from starch-and sugar based feedstock (corn and sugar cane) or cellulosic feedstock (grass, wood, crop residues, etc.) Produced in blends: E10, E15-20, E85 High octane, 34% less energy than gasoline US Dept of Energy

4. Hamelinck, Carlo and Andre Faaij (2005)

5. Ethanol Controversy Space intensive  Increased need for farmland  Are rainforests at risk? Impact on global food prices  “Food vs Fuel” debate Depletes groundwater reserves Increased use of fertilizers Viable long term solution? US Dept of Energy

6. Case Study (Hill, et al.) Looks at GHG contributing to climate change and PM2.5 Consider 3 methods of corn ethanol: using natural gas, coal, and corn stover 4 methods of cellulosic ethanol: corn stover, switchgrass, prairie biomass, Miscanthus

7. Hill, Jason, et al. (2008)

10. US Dept of Energy

11. Conclusion Emissions from corn ethanol up for debate However, corn ethanol emissions would improve if advances in technology were applied  Reduced fertilizers  Increase crop yields  Improved conversion processes Cellulosic ethanol appears to lower GHG and PM2.5 emissions when compared to gasoline

12. Emerging Alternative Fuels… Biobutanol Biogas Biomass to Liquids Coal to Liquids Fischer-Tropsch Diesel Gas to Liquids Hydrogenated-Derived Renewable Diesel P-Series Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel For more info go to: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/fuels/