Sustainable Energy and Technologies – Assignment 1

Question 1

The influence of the molecular structure of a fuel on its research octane number
(RON) and motor octane number (MON) is that when an increase in the branching in
the molecular structure would increase the octane quality of branched chain
hydrocarbons. Both RON and MON numbers will increase when there are more
branched out where for example; among naphthenes 5-membered ring compounds
have a higher octane quality than 6-membered ones, although they have the same
number of atoms. The three hydrocarbon examples to be compared are
Methylbenzene, 1-Heptene and 2-methyl -1 Hexene. The branches along with the
octane number may be seen in the diagrams below;

a) Methylbenzene b) 1-Heptene

Octane number : 120 Octane number: 54.5

 c) 2-Methyl -1-Hexene

Octane number: 90.7

As may be seen in the comparison of the hydrocarbons above, as there are more
interconnecting branch, the octane number is higher. A good quality fuel has a
higher octane number. The use of low octane number fuel would affect the
environment by causing noise pollution and especially in the city like Perth, it is
undesired. The fuel performance is also lower and there is a waste of energy.

Question 2

The net calorific value (NCV) for calculating the estimate change in energy supplies
between 1973 and 2007 are shown in the calculations below;

Year 1973 has an energy supply of 6115 M toe

Year 2007 has an energy supply of 12029 M toe
The change in energy supply between both years;
12029M-6115M=5914M toe

According to the NCV conversion 1toe=1.33kW and 1toe/year = 1.33 x 365 x 24

kwh

Therefore, the estimate change in energy supplies between 1973 and 2007 in MWh
is;

5914M x 1.33 x 365x 24=6.89 x 1010 MWh (NVC)

The gross calorific value (NCV) for calculating the estimate change in oil’s energy
supplies between 1973 and 2007 are shown in the calculations below;

The percentage of oil supply contribution to energy supply is multiplied with total
energy supply in regard to its appropriate year;

Year 1973: 46.1% x 6115Mtoe = 2819.02Mtoe

Year 2007: 34% x 12029Mtoe = 4089.89 Mtoe

The change in oil supply between both years;

4089.86M-2819.02M=1270.84M toe

According to the GCV conversion 1toe=1.4kW and 1toe/year = 1.4 x 365 x 24 kWh

1270.84M x 1.4 x 365x 24=1.56 x 1010 MWh(GVC)

Question 3

a) The six factors that will contribute to the commercial success of the proposed
biofuel
a) It has a high octane quality
 b) It is inexpensive
c) It has compatibility with existing infrastructure
d)It has to be contained and dispensed
e)It has to have little or no harmful emissions
f) It has to be relatively non toxic

b) The six commercial threats to the success of this biofuel run vehicle would
be
a) There would be an increase in food prices as biofuel products such as corn
and vegetables are used instead as fuel if the success of using biofuel is
available.
b) A lot of land would be taken up just to grow and produce crops meant for
biofuel , and the huge space might not be able to be industrialized.
c) Biofuel might be seasonal or might not be able to contain seasons. This
would cause an instability to its availability because crop production is
influenced by aspects such as weather and pesticides. It would also cause
a fluctuation to its costs due to the its availability.
d) To make this more available, government might provide price subsidies to
it. A misuse of this is possible as shop owners might purchase them to
make into cheaper priced alcohol for consumption which is a health
hazard.
e) Because it’s a new type of technology there might be insufficient
knowledge in maintenance and repair and therefore the disadvantage of
an increase in cost for spare parts and maintenance might arise. New
manufacturing processes for the new technology used would have in
increase in cost.
f) Fossil fuel prices might increase because biofuel would be the dominating
fuel.Those who cannot afford to buy a new biofuel run vehicle and is still
using fossil fuel run vehicles would have to handle the price increase of
fossil fuel.

a) By switching over from gasoline to biofuel, the engine design and

performance will be affected by the issues stated below(Penn State College of
Agricultural Sciences 2009);
 a) Engine power- Engine power and torque tend to be 3 – 5 percent lower
when using biofuel such as biodiesel. For biodiesel fuel, it has less energy
per unit volume than traditional diesel fuel.
b) Fuel efficiency- For biodiesel as a biofuel has a slightly lower fuel
efficiency due to the lower energy content of the fuel. Typically, the drop-
off is in the same range as the reduction in peak engine power (3-5
percent).
c) Engine wear-For biofuel such as vegetable oil and their methyl and ethyl
esters are quite similar to diesel fuel. The material of the engine is able to
contain vegetable oil , however the material of the hose leading to the
engine is incompatible with vegetable oil. For biodiesel as a biofuel,
engine wear has been measured to be less than that of petroleum diesel.
d) Deposits and clogging – Deposits and clogging is possible for biofuel due
to its ease in oxidation, especially for low quality biofuels. If fuel quality is
high, there shouldn’t be much deposits.
e) Viscousity- Biofuel in cold temperature tends to be more viscous causing a
drop in performance to the vehicle.

Question 4
a) Factors which contribute to the government making the decision of banning
running passenger cars to run in lean-fuel conditions are to provide better
performance in vehicles, have efficient fuel use and have low exhaust
hydrocarbon emissions. There would be less air pollution especially in a fuel
rich condition. Due to the location of a city, lean fuel would reduce throttling
losses where throttling is commonly performed in a vehicle in a city (United
States Environmental Protection Agency 2004).

b) The environment and sustainability aspects of the local government ‘s

decisions, would be the reduction of NOx emissions. The extremely weak air
fuel mixtures lead to lower combustion temperatures and therefore lower
NOx formation. Environmentally, it reduces air pollution due to significant
emission reductions for both toxic pollutants and greenhouse gases. It is
sustainable that is a government decision and the community would have to
adhere and practice it and considering it increases the fuel economy due to
efficient fuel use, it is also sustainable.

c) The reasons to file a petition against this decision would be as mentioned.

Lean fuel is gas fuel or vaporized gasoline, and while lean burn gas engines
offer higher theoretical efficiencies, transient response and performance of
the vehicle may be compromised in certain situations. Lean burn gas engines
are always turbocharged, therefore resulting in high power and torque figures
not achievable with stoichiometric engines due to high combustion
temperatures. The main drawback of lean burning is that a complex catalytic
converter system is required to reduce the NOx emissions. Lean burn engines
do not work well with modern 3-way catalytic converter which requires a
pollutant balance at the exhaust port so they can carry out oxidation and
reduction reactions, so most modern engines run at or near the
stoichiometric point.
Question 5

a) Common symptoms could lead the designer to realize an abnormal

combustion phenomena would be to have a noticeable power loss to the
engine and violent audible noise. There might be glowing deposit produced
as well as an overheated exhaust valved. Engine particle wear is also a
symptom because in abnormal combustion phenomena there is an
uncontrollable form of combustion occurring earlier and earlier in each
subsequent engine cycle causing more wear and tear from the increase of
combustion frequency.

b) Engine knock is usually caused by abnormal combustion and pre-ignition

where air fuel ignites before the spark plug fires. Symptoms of pre ignition is
having spark plugs being too hot for the application or having carboneous
deposits in the combustion chamber heated to incandescence by previous
engine combustion events. Abnormal combustion is detonation from
unburned fuel and airs beyond the boundary flame front subjected to hat and
pressure and therefore cause an ignition of at least one pocket of fuel and air
mixture outside the flame front. Therefore, an after run after the ignition is
turned off would be a symptom which is not caused by abnormal combustion
phenomena, which distinguishes that that was not caused by abnormal
combustion phenomena.

c) Modifications in engine design to help in overcoming the observed abnormal

combustion phenomena are;
a) The use of fuel with a higher octane rating
b) By reducing the peak cylinder pressure by increasing the engine
revolutions
c) By increasing mixture turbulence or swirl by increasing engine revolutions
or by increasing squish turbulence from the combustion chamber design
d) By decreasing the manifold pressure by reducing the throttle opening or
reducing the load on the engine.
e) Exhaust gas recirculation may be improved appropriate calibration of the
engine’s ignition timing schedule and careful design of the engine’s
combustion chambers and cooling system as well as controlling the initial
air intake temperature.
Question 6

a) Three commonly used oxygenate supplements that are available in the

market are methanol (MeOH), methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), tertiary
amyl methyl ether (TAME). Other than that there’re biomass such as
ethanol(EtOH)and ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) (Hamilton 1995).

b) The factors which will encourage users to buy and accept this particular
oxygen derivative of hydrocarbons would be the reduction of the reactivity of
emissions because the hydrocarbon fractions would be carefully modified to
utilize the octane and volatility properties of the oxygenates. The
hydrocarbon composition also must be significantly more modified than the
existing oxygenated gasolines to reduce unsaturates, volatility, benzene and
the reactivity of emissions. This would enhance a healthier air environment.
Without the use of oxygenate, governments are forced to create a more
restrictive rules to control air pollution which might cost more and create
inconvenience to vehicle users, and therefore it is easier for the vehicle users
to adopt the use of oxygenate(Hamilton 1995).

c) Since oxygenates contain some oxygen within the molecule, their

stoichiometric air to fuel ratio is less than for hydrocarbons of comparable
size. An oxygenate fuel has its combustion near its stoichiometric condition
which is similar to lean fuel condition. This might cause lower performance.
The drivers would then need to reset their engine or oxygenate supplement if
they do not want to run on lean fuel.

d) The degree of miscibility of oxygenate with water may cause a release of

methanol and ethanol from the product if the water is present in the
distribution system causing a lost of some fuel. The presence of water can
also cause rust formation and corrosion. I would prefer a less miscibility one,
which are higher alcohols, they are then less soluble with water and there
 would be less lost of alcohol, hence less and fewer problems (Eastern
Connecticut State University. N.d.).

Question 7

a) Inverter- A low- voltage dc produced by the fuel cell is stepped using a boost
converter to obtain the required voltage at the input of the three-phase dc/ac
inverter. The inverter converts the dc to three phase variables voltage and
variable frequency power to vary the speed and torque of the electric torque
of the electric machine that propels the vehicle. Therefore, the speed and
torque of the traction motor may be controlled which improves in the fuel
consumption efficiency.
 b) Battery system- The battery system is meant to contain energy that may be
generated in the travelling of the vehicle. The battery system also provides
voltage during transient conditions, therefore providing energy and hence
reduce the need for over burning fuel .

Regenerative braking – The regenerative braking generates electricity to the

motor on the deceleration phase. This regenerative braking reduces vehicle
speed by converting some of its kinetic energy into electricity, depending
upon the power rating of the motor/generator.
c) Traction controller- The traction controller sends control signals to the fuel
cell, dc/dc converter, and the dc/ac inverter based on the feedback speed
and torque signals as well as driver commands. Therefore, the speed and
torque of the traction motor is controlled. This will increase the efficiency of
the energy transfer and storage because from the feedback aspect of the
controller to achieve optimum energy.
d) Fuel cell balance of plant loads/components- The fuel cell system balance of
plant (BOP) loads are pumps, blower motors, motor actuators, etc. which
improves the efficiency of the fuel cell system. It would be ideal if not much
energy is used by these components and that they perform their tasks in an
energy efficient manner.
e) Propulsion motor- It is main actuator of the vehicle and is controlled from a
motor controller. An optimum energy transfer ratio from the motor controller
to the actuator should be considered in the design of this part to achieve fuel
efficiency.

Question 8

a) A methanol-based fire burns invisibly, unlike gasoline, which burns with a visible
flame. If a fire occurs on the track, there is no flame or smoke to obstruct the view
of other approaching drivers, but this can also delay visual detection of the fire and
the initiation of fire suppression. This may be extremely dangerous because other
drivers might enter the combustion of the methanol without intending to because it
was invisible (Vaughan, S. 2010).

b) The safety hazards for methanol and of hydrogen are almost similar, however methanol is
considered safest because it is less combustible. Methanol is "energy-dense," meaning that it
holds a lot of energy and, as a liquid, it's easier to transport and store. When
methanol is fed into a fuel cell, the byproducts are water and carbon dioxide. The
carbon dioxide is released in small amounts.
The hydrogen fueled should be designed, as is similar to a gasoline vehicle, so that the fuel tank is
not in a position at which it would be compromised in the event of an accident. In the event of an
accident or leak, the fuel system should be designed to isolate the tank. This is done with excess flow
valves and blow-off valves; in the event of a problem, solenoids are triggered to seal off the tank
preventing the hydrogen from escaping. Furthermore, leak detectors in the passenger area and at
other positions should detect high concentrations of hydrogen (CBS Interactive 2011).

For consumers, a hydrogen filling station will work in a similar way to the familiar petrol station. Note
that the hose will be attached, not just inserted into the filler when the hydrogen is filled into the
vehicle. An excess flow valve would close automatically if a pipe would rupture and a large amount of
hydrogen would leak (Vaughan, S. 2010).

Question 9

a) Effect of compresson ratio on combustion duration - The combustion duration

decreases as the compression ratio increases. This is because of the increase in the
end-of-compression temperature and pressure and decrease in the fraction residual
gases. This creates a favorable condition for the reduction of ignition lag and
increase in the flame speed.

Effect of equivalence ratio on the combustion duration- Operation at lean or rich

mixtures tends to increase the combustion duration. This effect is more
predominant at higher speeds. This is because of the lesser thermal energy
liberated from the leaner mixtures which increases the ignition delay and slows the
flame propagation. The flame temperature is low at lean and rich mixtures.

Effect of spark plug location on combustion duration- As the distance between the
spark plug from the location nearest to the wall increases, the combustion duration
decreases. This is because of the decrease in the distance traveled by the flame.
The spark location has a greater effect in suppressing detonation.

Effect of spark timing on combustion duration- Altering spark timing will lead to an
increase in combustion duration. When the spark timing is increased, there would
be more combustion and hence lengthen the combustion duration.

Therefore, it has become clear that any attempt to increase the combustion
duration either by reducing the compression ratio, locating the spark near the
periphery or operating at leaner mixtures, is going to improve the engine's
economy, but is going to reduce the power output.

b) An increase in the combustion duration causes the peak temperature and the
brake mean effective pressure to decrease, which is due to the increased heat
losses from the combustion duration. On the other hand, due to the increasing
combustion duration, there is a decrease in the brake specific fuel consumption to a
certain limit and an improvement of the thermal efficiency. Lower NOx emission
occur on high combustion duration. However decreasing the combustion duration
beyond a certain limit will reduce the concentration of NOx.

Question 10(a)
The important factors that would possibly make one biofuel more acceptable than
another to the general public than the other biofuel would probably be the cost or
price of the fuel, the compatibility to their vehicles, the gallons per acre (to
determine less usage of land for a more efficient amount of fuel production), the
environmental benefit, the energy produced. As an example, take the comparison
of biofuels (Hanei Foundation 2011); biodiesel and ethanol.

Cost- Currently, commercial biodiesel is more expensive than ethanol.

Compatibility- Biodiesel can run in any diesel generated engines. However, it is not
yet clear if it is the same when using 100% ethanol since it is recommended to be
blended with fossil fuel like gasoline. Therefore, it is only compatible with selected
gasoline powered automobiles. In the United States, almost all ethanol produced
can be blended with gasoline.

Environmental Benefit- Both biofuels can reduce harmful emissions. Both biodiesel
and ethanol could provide significant environmental benefit. The two have a great
probability of decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions because of the fact that
these biofuels are primarily derived from crops which absorb carbon dioxide. The
production and combustion of ethanol ends in 12% less greenhouse gas emission
than the production and combustion of regular diesel. On the other hand, the
generation and combustion of biodiesel from soybeans results in 41% diminution
compared to conventional gasoline.

Energy produced- Many reports stated that biodiesel provides 93% more net energy
per gallon than is necessary for its manufacture. On the other hand ethanol
produces only 25% more net energy.

Gallons per acre- In the perspective of land use and agricultural efficiency, ethanol
seems to be a good choice. The reason is that about 420 gallons of ethanol can be
generated per acre in contrast to 60 gallons of biodiesel per acre soybeans.
Consequently, the cost of soybean oil would significantly increase if biodiesel
production is increased as well.

Question 10(b)
Parameters that which two biofuels are to be compared in terms of the vehicle fuel
system design would be the safety of using it, its storage, its reactivity and its
emissions. Examples would be in terms of the performance, safety of the reactivity
of biofuel, the paint of the automobile will react with the biofuel and therefore may
be dissolved after a long period of time. Examples in the performance of the
vehicle fuel system design in comparison would be the reaction to cold weather,
and the crystallization of it at low temperatures. Other than that, in terms of its
storage, some fuel lines and seals might require biofuel resistant synthetic
depending on which biofuel is used. Fuel filter clogging is caused by certain biofuels
and therefore there would be power loss, and therefore is a paremeter to be
considered (Hanei Foundation 2011).

References

CBS Interactive. 2011. Sharp, MIT make strides in methanol fuel cells.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9946554-54.html

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. 2009.Renewable and alternative energy

fact sheet. http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uc204.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2004. Advanced Technology

Vehicle Modeling in PERE.
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/models/ngm/420d04002.pdf

Hamilton, B. 1995. FAQ: Automotive Gasoline.

http://www.turborick.com/gsxr1127/gasoline.html

Vaughan, S. 2010. Hydrogen Safety.

http://www.40fires.org/Wiki.jsp?page=Hydrogen%20Safety

Hanei Foundation. 2011. Introduction to Ethanol and Biodiesel.

http://biofuelguide.net/ethanol-and-biodiesel-a-biofuel-comparison/

Hanei Foundation. 2011. Biofuel Guide.

http://biofuelguide.net/

Hybrid Marine LTD. n.d. What is a hybrid?

http://www.hybrid-marine.co.uk/10.html

Eastern Connecticut State University. N.d. Bio Fuel Info Glossary.

http://www.ctbiofuelinfo.org/index.htm