Environmental Implications of Alternative-Fueled Automobiles:  Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Tradeoffs

We analyze alternative fuel-powertrain options for internal combustion engine automobiles. Fuel/engine efficiency, energy use, pollutant discharges, and greenhouse gas emissions are estimated for spark and compression ignited, direct injected (DI), and indirect injected (II) engines fueled by conven...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2000-01, Vol.34 (2), p.225-231
Main Authors: MacLean, Heather L, Lave, Lester B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Air
Air pollution caused by fuel industries
ALCOHOL FUELS
Alternative energy sources
Applied sciences
Atmospheric pollution
AUTOMOBILES
DIESEL FUELS
EMISSION
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Environmental impact
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Exact sciences and technology
FUEL SUBSTITUTION
Fuels
GASOLINE
Greenhouse effect
GREENHOUSE GASES
NATURAL GAS
Pollution
Pollution reduction
Pollution sources. Measurement results
Transports
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Summary:We analyze alternative fuel-powertrain options for internal combustion engine automobiles. Fuel/engine efficiency, energy use, pollutant discharges, and greenhouse gas emissions are estimated for spark and compression ignited, direct injected (DI), and indirect injected (II) engines fueled by conventional and reformulated gasoline, reformulated diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), and alcohols. Since comparisons of fuels and technologies in dissimilar vehicles are misleading, we hold emissions level, range (160 and 595 km), vehicle size class, and style (a 1998 Ford Taurus sedan) constant. At present, CNG vehicles have the best exhaust emissions performance while DI diesels have the worst. Compared to a conventional gasoline fueled II automobile, greenhouse gases could be reduced by 40% by a DI CNG automobile and by 25% by a DI diesel. Gasoline- and diesel-fueled automobiles are able to attain long ranges with little weight or fuel economy penalty. CNG vehicles have the highest penalty for increasing range, due to their heavy fuel storage systems, but are the most attractive for a 160-km range. DI engines, particularly diesels, may not be able to meet strict emissions standards, at least not without lowering efficiency.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es9905290