Cars: Fuels of the new Millenium

Fernandez, Eunice C. S16

eunicecofernandez@yahoo.com
Gawchinco, Tiffany Loyce K. S16
tintinspy@yahoo.com
Laconico, Kenneth Kristian P. S16
ct_k9@yahoo.com
Nery, Joseph S. S16
josephnery@yahoo.com
Yang, Don Mckinley S16
don_12488@yahoo.com

De La Salle University - Manila

College of Computer Studies
Information Technology Department
ABSTRACT such as vans, pick-ups and SUVs, heavy trucks and
motorcycles are not included in this industry.”
The main focus of this paper is to discuss the car
manufacturing industry. “What keeps car manufacturers
to continue producing non-gas cars in spite of the 2. DIESEL CARS
availability of alternative fuels?” will be the main topic
to be answered in this paper through research and Portland Biodiesel Co-op states the fact that,
evaluation. The advantages, disadvantages, statistics “According to one auto parts catalog, from 1960 to
and factors that affect the car manufacturing industry 2002, over 25 Manufacturers have made at least 236
will be shown and compared. Since there is minimal different passenger vehicle models with diesel engines.”
information of the Philippine car industry, the paper Based on the graph provided, it shows that during the
will focus on the U.S. car manufacturing industry. early 1980s, there was a boost in the manufacturing of
Different alternatives to gasoline cars will be discussed diesel cars in the U.S. Oil crisis during the earlier years
with regard to cost and benefits. The information was the one of the factors that affected the boost in
gathered will be used in order to come up with the best diesel car manufacturing industry.
alternative fuel for future manufacturing of innovative The decline of the sales of diesel cars was affected by
cars. the decline of gas prices.

1. INTRODUCTION

TechTarget (2007) defines the automotive industry as

“companies that manufacture and/or distribute vehicles,
including passenger cars, trucks, locomotives,
motorcycles, commercial ships, pleasure boats, and/or
recreational vehicles.”
According to the industry report provided by
IBISWorld (2009), “demand for vehicle type is
influenced greatly by movements in petrol prices.” This
caused the car manufacturers to divert their attention to
developing petrol-electric hybrid cars. IBISWorld also
In the US, the 1980s were very good years for diesel
claims that companies in the industry that manufacture
passenger vehicles. Source: 2002 Mighty parts
cars are called automakers that produce cars in
database.
assembly plants. “The manufacturing of light trucks
 3. ALTERNATIVE FUELS
3.1 Ethanol
Ethanol is an alcohol-based alternative fuel that is made
by fermenting and distilling crops such as corn, barley
or wheat. Ethanol can be blended with gasoline to
increase octane levels and improve emissions quality.
3.2 Natural Gas
Natural gas is an alternative fuel that burns clean and is
already widely available to people in many countries
through utilities that provide natural gas to homes and
businesses. When used in natural gas vehicles cars and
trucks with specially designed engines natural gas
produces far fewer harmful emissions than gasoline or
diesel.
3.3 Electricity
Electricity can be used as a transportation alternative
fuel for battery-powered electric and fuel-cell vehicles.
Battery powered electric vehicles store power in
batteries that are recharged by plugging the vehicle into
a regular electrical source. Fuel-cell vehicles run on
electricity that is produced through an electrochemical
reaction that occurs when hydrogen and oxygen are
combined. Fuel cells produce electricity without
combustion or pollution.
3.4 Hydrogen
Hydrogen can be mixed with natural gas to create an
alternative fuel for vehicles that use certain types of
internal combustion engines. Hydrogen is also used in
fuel-cell vehicles that run on electricity produced by the
petrochemical reaction that occurs when hydrogen and
oxygen are combined in the fuel “stack.”
3.5 Propane
Propane also called liquefied petroleum gas or LPG is a
byproduct of natural gas processing and crude oil
refining. Already widely used as a fuel for cooking and
heating, propane is also a popular alternative fuel for
vehicles. Propane produces fewer emissions than
gasoline, and there is also a highly developed
infrastructure for propane transport, storage and
distribution.
Hydrogen is also used in fuel-cell vehicles that
run on electricity produced by the petrochemical
reaction that occurs when hydrogen and oxygen are
combined in the fuel “stack.”
3.6 Biodiesel
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel based on vegetable oils
or animal fats, even those recycled after restaurants
have used them for cooking. Vehicle engines can be
converted to burn biodiesel in its pure form, and
biodiesel can also be blended with petroleum diesel and
used in unmodified engines. Biodiesel is safe,
biodegradable, reduces air pollutants associated with
vehicle emissions, such as particulate matter, carbon
monoxide and hydrocarbons.
3.7 Methanol
Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, can be used as
an alternative fuel in flexible fuel vehicles that are
designed to run on M85, a blend of 85 percent methanol
and 15 percent gasoline, but automakers are no longer
manufacturing methanol-powered vehicles. Methanol
could become an important alternative fuel in the
future, however, as a source of the hydrogen needed to
power fuel-cell vehicles.
3.8 P-Series
P-Series fuels are a mix of ethanol, natural gas liquids
and methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF), a co-solvent
derived from biomass. P-Series fuels are clear, high-
octane alternative fuels that can be used in flexible fuel
vehicles. P-Series fuels can be used alone or mixed with
gasoline in any ratio by simply adding it to the tank.
3.8.1 Pros
• clean and relatively low-cost alternatives to
gasoline
• It produces lower carbon monoxide and carbon
dioxide emissions lower levels of hydrocarbon
and oxides of nitrogen emissions.
• One gallon of pure ethanol contains about 66
percent as much energy as a gallon of gasoline
3.8.2 Cons
 • Creating plant-based bio fuels requires too
much farmland to be practical or sustainable—
land that would be better used to grow food
• Producing ethanol and other bio fuels takes
more energy than the fuel can generate
• Replacing only five percent of the nation’s
diesel consumption with biodiesel would
require diverting approximately 60 percent of
today’s soy crops to biodiesel production
4. ISSUES
4.1 Bio fuels are Easy to Use, but Not Always Easy to
Find
And unlike other forms of renewable energy (like
hydrogen, solar or wind), bio fuels are easy for people
and businesses to transition to without special apparatus
or a change in vehicle or home heating infrastructure—
you can just fill your existing car, truck or home oil
tank with it. Those looking to replace gasoline with
ethanol in their car, however, must have a “flex-fuel”
model that can run on either fuel. Otherwise, most
regular diesel engines can handle biodiesel as readily as
regular diesel.
Despite the upsides, however, experts point
out that bio fuels are far from a cure for our addiction to
petroleum. A wholesale societal shift from gasoline to
bio fuels, given the number of gas-only cars already on
the road and the lack of ethanol or biodiesel pumps at
existing filling stations, would take some time.
4.2 Are There Enough Farms and Crops to Support a
Switch to Bio fuels?
Another major hurdle for widespread adoption of bio
fuels is the challenge of growing enough crops to meet
demand, something skeptics say might well require
converting just about all of the world’s remaining
forests and open spaces over to agricultural land.
“Replacing only five percent of the nation’s
diesel consumption with biodiesel would require
diverting approximately 60 percent of today’s soy crops
to biodiesel production,” says Matthew Brown, an
energy consultant and former energy program director
at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“That’s bad news for tofu lovers.”
4.3 Does Producing Bio fuels Use More Energy than
They Can Generate?
Another dark cloud looming over bio fuels is whether
producing them actually requires more energy than they
can generate. After factoring in the energy needed to
grow crops and then convert them into bio fuels,
Cornell University researcher David Pimental
concludes that the numbers just don’t add up. His 2005
study found that producing ethanol from corn required
29 percent more energy than the end product itself is
capable of generating. He found similarly troubling
numbers in making biodiesel from soybeans.
“There is just no energy benefit to using plant
biomass for liquid fuel,” Pimentel says.
4.4 Conservation is a Key Strategy for Reducing
Dependence on Fossil Fuels
There is no one quick-fix for weaning ourselves off of
fossil fuels and the future will likely see a combination
of sources--from wind and ocean currents to hydrogen,
solar and, yes, some use of bio fuels--powering our
energy needs. The “elephant in the living room” that is
often ignored when considering energy options,
however, is the hard reality that we must reduce our
consumption, not just replace it with something else.
Indeed, conservation is probably the largest single
“alternative fuel” available to us.
5. MANUFACTURERS
5.1 Hydrogen
5.1.1 Fiberforge
One of the earliest hydrogen powered concept cars was
called the Revolution, manufactured by Fiberforge, they
are formerly known as Hypercar, Inc. Though the
experiment stalled in the hydrogen fuel cell phase, what
came out of the experiment was a method of producing
ultra-lightweight automobiles using carbon composites.
Fiberforge soon realized that if the hydrogen powered
cars of the future were to be successful, then cutting
down on the weight of cars would be essential for
delivering better fuel mileage while retaining safety
standards.
5.1.2 DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler, who owns Mercedes, also announced
the production of a fleet of Mercedes-Benz A-Class
hydrogen powered cars in the U.S. and Europe. The
Mercedes F-Cell cars get their power from compressed
hydrogen.
 Mercedes has also brought forth the F600
Hygenius Concept Car, which is powered by fuel cell
and like hybrid vehicles, uses regenerative braking to
recapture energy and recharge the batteries.
5.1.3 Honda
Honda has also developed its own hydrogen powered
car and has said its cars are certified by the California
Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection
Agency and out-distances the Mercedes cars claiming
its fuel cell cars can go 220 miles before needing
refueling as opposed to the 90-mile per tank limit for
the Mercedes.
5.1.3 Toyota
Toyota has showcased the FINE-S concept car with a
hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid-electric power train which
was built on the success of their gasoline / electric
hybrid car, the Prius. BMW has unveiled what they are
calling "The world's fastest hydrogen car" which
they've named the HR2.
5.2 Ethanol Fuel
5.2.1 US
Ethanol is blended into almost 50% of the U.S. fuel
supply, mostly as E10 and E85. It is made from crops
grown in America, primarily corn and milo. Today
there are more than 110 ethanol plants across the
country. Ethanol replaces gasoline that would require
the use of 600,000 barrels of oil a day. Last year, the
United States produced over 4.8 billion gallons of
ethanol. The U.S. ethanol industry supported the
creation of over 160,000 jobs in all sectors of the
economy in 2005, boosting household income by $6.7
billion.
Major auto manufacturers such as Ford,
Chrysler, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and GM make several
vehicles which use ethanol. They are sometimes known
as Flexible Fuel or "flex fuel" vehicles (FFV).
As ethanol is not yet widely available in the
US these cars and trucks are purchased mostly by large
companies who have their own fueling stations. Ethanol
could easily be made available to consumers at
currently existing gas stations. In the US only about 700
of the nation's 170,000 gas stations offer E85.
5.2.2 Brazil
Brazil has become a model country for the use of
ethanol. They primarily use ethanol made from sugar
cane processed into an alcohol form.
In fact over 50% of the cars sold in Brazil are
flex-fuel cars that use pretty much any combination of
ethanol and regular gasoline. Computerized sensors in
the engines figure out the gas-ethanol combination
currently in the car and get the engine to work
accordingly. It is estimated that by 2008 90% of all cars
sold in Brazil will be flex-fuel.
Their great advantage over hybrid cars is that
they don’t cost more than regular cars. Unlike the US,
ethanol fuel is widely available at gas stations in Brazil.
Many major auto companies sell flex-fuel
vehicles in Brazil: Chevrolet (Astra, Corsa, Meriva,
Montana), Citroen (C3), Fiat (Mille, Palio, Siena, Stilo),
Ford (EcoSport, Fiesta), Peugot (206), Renault (Clio,
Scenic), Volkswagen (Fox, Gol, Kombi).
5.3 Electric Cars
5.3.1 Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors designs and sells high-performance;
highly efficient electric sports cars with no
compromises. Tesla Motors cars combine style,
acceleration, and handling with advanced technologies
that make them among the quickest and the most
energy-efficient cars on the road.
5.3.2 Myers Motors LLC
Myers Motors began with desire and vision. They
desire to be passionate about something bigger than
ourselves, and visions to positively impact people and
the world. They desire to be more than just another
business in a market, and visions to develop innovative
products that are functional. They have a desire to be
inspired, and visions to be a part of a movement. They
desire to transform minds, and a vision to transform the
world.
5.3.3 American Honda Motor Co Inc
The Insight is the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle
available in the U.S. It was designed from the ground
up to achieve world-class fuel economy and ultra low
emissions, using a combination of cutting-edge
technologies, including an innovative hybrid power
train, advanced aerodynamic design and lightweight
aluminum body. The Insight earns the best EPA
mileage ratings in history, rated at 61 mpg city/70 mpg
highway. At the heart of the Insight is Honda's
revolutionary Integrated Motor Assist (IMA?) system,
which combines the world's lightest 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder
gasoline automobile engine with an ultra-thin electric
motor.
5.3.4 Chrysler LLC

ENVI a special team within Chrysler was formed

specifically to bring you the next generation of
alternative drive trains as early as 2010 for North
America. Soon fter European markets will also benefit
from this innovative solution. ENVI has been hard at
work developing technology that will deliver fuel-less
Electric Vehicles and extremely fuel-efficient Range-
extended Electric Vehicles. And they re bringing it to
you in a full-range of vehicle options from Chrysler,
Jeep® and Dodge
5.4 Biodiesel
Biodiesel vehicles have always been the favorite of the
DIY gas saver. Some diesel vehicles can run on
biodiesel fuel with little to no modification. Like some
of the other gasoline alternatives, finding a biodiesel
filling station can be a little difficult.
• Mercedes-Benz 300 Series 300 TD
• Hummer H1 1995 AM
• Ford F-350
• Mitsubishi Might Max
6. FURTHER STUDY
It has been way back that we people are awakened by
the fact of not having an endless supply of oil. One way
or the other, Oil resource will be consumed until gone.
Currently, countries have only been meeting up to 10%
of our energy usage when it concerns the utilization of
alternative energy when in fact; we are more capable of
increasing it to a higher figure.
Primary consumer of the oil resource is the
vehicles that we are using today. Among all resource,
oil proved to be the biggest source of power when it
comes to our vehicles; it powers most if not all the
vehicles in the road today.
Studies and research has proved that hydrogen
can be a source of fuel to vehicles of today. The
availability of this resource is vast and what’s good in it
is its recyclable however, the process of extracting
hydrogen molecules from different natural resources
such as water, biomass, coal and methane have proven
to require electricity to function thus acquiring electric
energy entails other resources as well and may end up
using more than less.
Moreover, recent innovations in technology
make use of air as a source of fuel for vehicles. Tata
Motors confirms air-car project. The firm is currently
collaborating with French inventors to develop the said
technology. The idea of the vehicle is that it uses
compress air to run the engine of the car. It is however
undergoing yet thorough research and the car that we
perceived is yet a concept.
For now, the present problem of finding
alternative energy solutions to power our vehicles
continues. The task is large, but it is certainly is
achievable.
7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
It is not surprising to learn that companies are
producing cars that make use of some of the alternative
fuels to run their cars. It leads us to concluding that
through the knowledge of the people of the truth that oil
resources are limited and will come to a point where it
is all used up, people were acting to find different
alternative resources to be used as fuels and energy.
The fact that there are numerous alternative energy
sources today only proves that the issue of finding new
sources of energy is taken seriously. It can be seen
through the growth of the discoveries of finding new
and newer sources as the years went on.
The benefits of using these sources have been
proven to be beneficial to the people; environmentally
and economically. If we want a better and much
comfortable life, people should look into the promising
benefits of new innovations we have right now. As it
has been for the past, these emerging technologies
brought them good and brought us to where we are. In
order for us to advance, we must face the future.
8. REFERENCES
Alternative Fuels – Green Cars. (2008). Retrieved
March 12, 2009. From New Wave Cars.com Website:
http://www.newwavecars.com/ethanol.htm
Electric Car Manufacturers in the World by Business
Name. (2009). Retrieved March 12, 2009. From
Momentum Technologies LLC. Website:
http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byP/ev/ecars
/byB/mfg/byN/byName.shtml
Ethanol. (2007). Retrieved March 12,2009. From Mary
Land Grain Producers. Website:
http://www.marylandgrain.com/Ethanol.htm
Hydrogen Powered Cars. (2009). Retrieved March 12,
2009. From HydrogenCarsNow.com Website:
http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/hydrogen-powered-
cars.htm
Modern Biodiesel Production Technologies. (2009).
Retrieve March 11, 2009. From the Website:
http://www.spectech.dn.ua/en-prod_bio.htm?
gclid=CNO6v9DpnZkCFQMcewodBkv2Bg
The Pros and Cons of Bio fuels. (2009). Retrieve March
11, 2009. From About.com Website:
http://environment.about.com/od/fossilfuels/a/biofuels.h
tm
The Future of Alternative Energy for Cars. (2006).
Retrieve March 11, 2009 From Articlesbase Website:
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/the-
future-of-alternative-energy-for-cars-36884.html