Fuel Efficiency in Transportation Systems
Transportation of people and of goods plays an important role in modern life. It is a major source of anthropogenic CO2. This chapter, after introducing some fundamentals of natural climate fluctuations as described by Milankovitch cycles, describes the c
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Fuel Efficiency in Transportation Systems Maximilian Lacknera*, John M. Seiner and Wei-Yin Chenb,c a Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria b Oxford, MS, USA c Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
Abstract Transportation of people and of goods plays an important role in modern life. It is a major source of anthropogenic CO2. This chapter, after introducing some fundamentals of natural climate fluctuations as described by Milankovitch cycles, describes the causes and consequences of man-made climate change and the motivation for increased fuel efficiency in transportation systems. To this end, contemporary and future ground-based and air-based transportation technologies are discussed. It is shown that concepts that were already given up, such as turbine-driven cars, might be worthwhile for further studies. Alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ethanol and biofuels, and alternative power sources, e.g., compressed air engines and fuel cells, are presented from various perspectives. The chapter also addresses the contribution of CO2 emissions of the supply chain and over the entire life cycle for different transportation technologies.
Keywords Car; Truck; Plane; Cargo; Fuels; Alternative fuels; Hydrogen; Aerodynamic efficiency; Gasoline; Diesel; Engine; Milankovitch cycle; Turbine; Polar ice cap; Efficiency; Infrastructure
Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to introduce current concepts being examined to increase fuel efficiency in transportation systems in order to reduce their impact on unfavorable climate change. This is a daunting task that will take the cooperation and sacrifice of most of the entire human population to avoid a premature catastrophic event. Now, other chapters of this handbook reveal the salient scientific reasons for climate change, and the reader is encouraged to consult these chapters. However, here it is only necessary to establish that global warming or cooling has continually occurred by natural causes since Earth’s formation. This can be deduced from examining the so-called Milankovitch cycles (Kukla and Gavin 2004). Transportation of people (passengers) and goods (freight, cargo) can be done on the land, the sea, and the air. Approx. 50 % of all transportation emissions are from passenger transport (Lipscy and Schipper 2013). One can distinguish between individual transportation (e.g., cars, bikes) and mass transportation (e.g., trains, planes, buses). Land-based transportation is achieved on highways and on railroads. Travel intensity and choice of transportation mode depend on personal preference, income, and country (Lipscy and Schipper 2013). Trip distance, e.g., to work for commuters, is also an important driver (Muratori et al. 2013). Goods can also be moved in pipelines. With the globalization of the economy and shifts in lifestyle habits, transportation has become more and more important over the last 100 years, both in the *Email: [email protected] Page 1 of 23
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