Gas 2.0

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As if it wasn’t bad enough that particulate matter from diesel exhaust causes a range of respiratory problems including 15,000 premature deaths each year, new research shows that even short-term exposure to nanoparticles found in diesel fumes can affect brain function.

Nanoparticles can travel to the brain via the olfactory nerve, where they could cause an oxidative stress response in the region of the brain critical to information processing.

Researchers placed subjects in a room with either clean air or diesel fumes (similar to a busy street), and used a electro- encephalograph (EEG) to measure brain response. Subjects breathing the sooty air showed a stress response in the brain’s cortex within 30 minutes, which continued even after they left the room.

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How much does business-as-usual cost? This morning, Green Car Congress reported that the US is projected to pay $440 billion for imported petroleum in 2008:

The increase to the estimated $440 billion for 2008 is based on an average $90 per barrel crude oil price for the year. In 2002, before the current bull market for oil began, US oil imports cost less than $103 billion. The preliminary figures for last year came to some $327 billion.

With little prospect for cheaper gas prices in the future, any decrease in the US export bill will have to come from a reduction in petroleum usage.

Which brings to mind two important questions:

1. What percentage of our Gross Domestic Product will the US have to export before things start to change dramatically?
2. Where is all this money going, anyway?

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We all know that fast cars are fun and fuel-sipping cars are environmentally responsible, but is there a middle ground?

Short of expensive electric sports cars like the Tesla Roadster, there may be a solution to be found in diesel. Not only can diesel cars be fueled with waste vegetable oil, biodiesel, or some mixture of these fuels, but diesel engines produce a lot of torque and get better fuel economy than their gasoline-powered brethren.

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While gasoline prices continue to inch upward, the U.S. still enjoys some of the cheapest fuel in the world. FastCompany.com put together a list of world gas prices that could make you feel better about $3 per gallon gas.

Country and Price per US gallon:

Norway $ 8.67
Netherlands $ 8.52
Belgium $ 8.36
Germany $ 8.06
United Kingdom $ 7.91
Italy $ 7.68
France $ 7.46
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Here´s a throwback to this year´s North American International Auto Show:

At this year´s Detroit auto show, GM’s Cadillac division displayed their Provoq Concept car, an electric vehicle powered by an onboard hydrogen fuel-cell . The electrical system, part of GM’s so-called E-Flex architecture, is supplemented by lithium ion batteries that supply added torque during acceleration. Six kg of compressed hydrogen will provide an estimated 300 miles of driving range.

GM’s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz spoke about the car and GM’s broader vision that “electrically driven vehicles like the Provoq represent the next great shift in the auto industry.” He also underscored GM’s commitment to develop environmentally friendly vehicles and reduce petroleum usage.

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Another one making its debut at the Geneva Auto Show, the Morgan LifeCar is a concept vehicle by the venerable British car maker that “will demonstrate that a new step in vehicle architecture is enabled by the use of a fuel cell hybrid power train.” Morgan not only wants to take a step away from the notion that a “green car” must sacrifice style and power, but also towards “[lowering] the entry barriers for a vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.” Not exactly sure how a hybrid of any kind means “zero emissions,” or how much hydrogen refueling is required (one of the main entry barriers for fuel cell technology), but will keep an eye on developments for answers (or hope to get them from you!).

Collaborators on the LifeCar concept include Oscar Automotive, Cranfield University, QinetiQ, Oxford University, and Linde AG.

Related Posts:
Electric “Scuba Car” to Debut at Geneva Auto Show
Germans Release 117 MPG Diesel Sportscar: Biodiesel, Anyone?
How to Get Infinity MPG: Fisker’s Eco-Chic Karma vs Chevy Volt

Via Trendhunter.

Stacy Feldman of solveclimate.com wrote a prescient post today about the coming clash between growing car demand and peak oil. Basically, there will be so many new cars added to the road in the next ten years (think China, India) that global petroleum usage will increase overall, even with drastic fuel efficiency increases. Add to that the eventual economic depletion of oil, and we have a a bit of a situation on our hands:

(1) The number of cars on the road globally will hit 1 billion by 2011.

(2) The world’s oil will peak by 2015, according to the CEO of Shell.

Better fuel efficiency + more cars = more oil burned.

Mull this over and America’s new CAFE standards of 35 mpg seem rather impotent. What’s needed is a multi-pronged approached to energy independence, based on three primary concepts:

1. Read the rest of this entry »

A research team from Sandia National Laboratories is trying to reverse the combustion process and turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel.

The process works something like this: concentrated solar power from a giant solar furnace is used to superheat a set of catalytic cobalt ferrite rings that, once activated, literally rip carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules apart. As a result, CO2 is transformed into carbon monoxide, which can be converted into methanol, jet fuel, or even gasoline.

Sounds a little too good to be true, but researchers say it works and claim a prototype facility will be completed by April.

The idea of recycling carbon dioxide is not new, but has generally been considered too difficult and expensive to be worth the effort. But with oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel and concerns about global warming mounting, researchers are increasingly motivated to investigate carbon recycling. Los Alamos Renewable Energy, for example, has developed a method of using CO2 to generate electricity and fuel.

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Not everyone has the same definition for the term ‘renewable-fuel’.

The United States Air Force is well on their way to becoming coal-powered. On Monday, the USAF carried out a transcontinental test flight using a 50-50 blend of standard jet fuel and coal-based ’synfuel’.

“The Air Force is taking a leadership role in testing and certifying the use of synthetic fuel in aircraft,” Secretary Wynne said. “We’re working very closely with our Army and Navy colleagues to ensure that this fuel is capable of operating in all of our aircraft. This is especially important because JP-8 military jet fuel is commonly used in the battlefield by the Army and Marines tactical vehicles and generators, as well as our respective aircraft.”

While synthetic fuel has the capacity to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it could also double CO2 emissions produced by military flight. At the time of this writing, synfuel is made via Fischer-Tropsch process from either coal or natural gas to produce a somewhat cleaner burning but extremely greenhouse-gas intensive product.

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All that green pond scum I used to avoid could well produce enough fuel to satisfy all the energy needs in the United States. That’s a pretty far out statement, but Glen Kertz, CEO of Valcent Products made it very clear that a process of growing algae vertically is capable of producing huge amounts of alternative fuels. It’s being proven today in Texas.

This is one fascinating story, with a link below showing the process and an explanation by Mr. Kertz.

Valcent has partnered with Global Green Solutions to develop a production test project in El Paso, TX. After 90 days of continual production, algae was being harvested at an average of one gram per liter from the Vertigro Bio-Reactor System. Based on those results, the joint venture partners believe their system would deliver about 33,000 gallons of algae oil per acre per year. By comparison, soybean oil produces about 49 gallons of oil per acre each year, and palm oil would yield about 630 acres of oil a year. Read the rest of this entry »